The new droid that accompanies Daisy Ridley and John Boyega’s characters on their journey through JJ Abrams'
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is basically a ball with a small R2-D2 styled head. Inside the body of the droid, there is a weight on a pole. The weight is heavier than the head, which is constructed out of a light metal, allowing the head to always remain upright as the body rolls on the ground. The artist,
Jason Ward, separated the sphere, as the official Lucasfilm concepts did, to show how the mechanisms work. However, the new droid does not do that in the film. An abundance of gadgets can be stored inside the droid, including many mechanisms and defenses. To allow the droid to operate functionally on screen as a puppet, the ball is allowed to role on two tracks that are either obscured or digitally removed.
As revealed in earlier news, the droid belongs to the character of "Kira." It is about a foot high, body of white and grey with orange highlight markings, big black lens for an eye, and is described as "curious and adventurous." A character which doesn't sound too different from fan loved R2-D2.
What do you think of this rough, but highly informative, concept? Does the concept sound fresh, new, and exciting? Does it worry or upset you? Leave your thoughts in the comments below and let us know.
Set 30 years after the events of Return of the Jedi, Star Wars VII continues the story of our favorite band of heroes and introduces new heroes. Directed by J.J. Abrams, Star Wars VII is set for release December 18, 2015.