Disney(LOS ANGELES) — If you can’t get enough of BB-8 — the rolling droid that first captured geeks’ hearts in The Force Awakens and returns in The Last Jedi — you’re in luck.
The company Spin Master has created a nearly full-sized BB-8, which looks and acts as if it rolled right out of that galaxy far, far away.
Even for the special effects wizards at Lucasfilm, getting the droid to roll and “act” on his own was once impossible. On The Force Awakens, it took a combination of puppeteering and other tricks to get him to move onscreen. But after that movie was done, the special effects team managed to make a functioning BB that could roll around without wires or puppeteers.
The new and improved droid made a surprise debut at Star Wars Celebration Anaheim in 2015: fans there, who assumed BB was a computer-generated character, flipped when a “practical” BB rolled out onstage. Now, Spin Master has taken all that capability — and more — and crammed it into their nearly 1:1 scale Hero Droid BB-8.
Not only can the toy be driven with remote control, but it interacts with its surroundings, complete with the droid’s sounds and mannerisms from the movies. There are even voice controls and a Follow Me mode, meaning the little droid can dutifully roll behind you on all your adventures, just like the one from the movies.
The Hero Droid BB-8 is now in stores, just in time for the holidays.
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