- "BB-9E was a jet-black BB-series astromech who patrolled the First Order flagship, Supremacy, serving his masters with ruthless efficiency."
- ―R0-GR
BB-9E was a black-plated BB-series astromech droid in the service of the First Order. A top-of-the-line astromech droid, during the New Republic Era, BB-9E served aboard Supreme Leader Snoke's flagship, the Supremacy, keeping machinery operational and upholding security procedures.
During the First Order-Resistance War, BB-9E discovered that the Supremacy had been infiltrated by Resistance operatives. As a result of the droid's actions, Captain Phasma's stormtroopers arrested Finn and Rose Tico before they could disable the Supremacy's hyperspace tracker.
Biography[]
Manufactured by Industrial Automaton,[1] the droid BB-9E was the property of the First Order military,[6] one of many units that were relied on to keep machinery operational and uphold procedures aboard the First Order Navy's warships.[2] During the New Republic Era, a war broke out between the Resistance and the First Order, as the latter set out to conquer the galaxy in the wake of the New Republic's destruction. By then,[5] BB-9E was assigned to the Mega-class Star Dreadnought Supremacy—the flagship of Supreme Leader Snoke[6]—where it performed its usual duties by keeping machinery, procedures, and potential intruders in check.[7]
Following the assault on D'Qar, a flotilla of Resistance starships was tracked through hyperspace and attacked by a fleet of First Order Resurgent-class Star Destroyers, led by the Supreme Leader's command ship. While the attack was in progress, BB-9E located three intruders—Resistance technician Rose Tico, the renegade stormtrooper FN-2187 "Finn," and the freelance slicer "DJ"—who infiltrated the Supremacy. BB-9E exposed the would-be saboteurs before they could disable the flagship's advanced active tracker system, resulting in their capture by Captain Phasma and her troopers. The Resistance droid BB-8, escaped the First Order's notice, however.[5]
Characteristics[]
BB-9E was a top-of-the-line astromech droid,[7] belonging to the BB-series astromech droid model. The droid was vigilant, utilizing a sharp photoreceptor—in every spectrum—against infiltrators, saboteurs and other threats to Supreme Leader Snoke's flagship.[2] Due to the First Order's view on droids, BB-9E was treated simply as a machine, resulting in a cold personality even for a droid that belonged to the normally friendly BB-unit model. Though subjected to regular memory wipes in order to remain subservient and docile,[8] BB-9E had developed a malevolent personality. It was especially malicious when reporting transgressions.[6]
A dark, gleaming BB astromech unit,[2] BB-9E had black-plating and a red,[5] multi-spectrum photoreceptor with telescoping lens.[6] Standing at 0.6 meters in height,[3] BB-9E featured a distinctive square dome for a head[5] and grilled openings to permit ventilation as well as enhanced sensor transparency.[6]
Equipment[]
Boasting the latest technology in the First Order,[2] BB-9E was armed with a shock prod and possessed an array of tools for various purposes, including technical support and combat.[7]
Behind the scenes[]
BB-9E was first revealed when several LEGO sets' packaging for Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi toy line leaked on May 26, 2017.[9] The droid was officially introduced in a preview for the Force Friday II products, released on August 31, 2017.[10] BB-9E also acted as one of the three droids of the "App-Enabled Droids" app AR game by Sphero alongside R2-D2 and BB-8, with BB-9E in particular giving a tour of the Supremacy.[11] The droid made his first appearance in the non-canon Star Wars Blips episode "Hey You," where he had a run in with BB-8.[12]
BB-9E was nicknamed "BB-H8," as in "hate," on the set of The Last Jedi.[13]
During the early development of The Last Jedi, BB-9E went almost three different designs made by Luke Fisher and Jake Lunt Davies before the final one which was featured in the finished version of the film.[14][15] Every design mostly affected the droid's head. Additionally, its original name was going to be BB-Hate in order, according to droid and creature effects supervisor Neal Scanlan, to demonize BB-8.[14]
Appearances[]
- Star Wars: Force Arena
- Star Wars Battlefront II (DLC)
- Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi (First canonical appearance)
- Star Wars: The Last Jedi: Expanded Edition (and audiobook)
- Star Wars: The Last Jedi Graphic Novel Adaptation
- The Last Jedi Adaptation 4
- Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge — Droid Depot (As toy)
Non-canon appearances[]
- Star Wars Blips — "Hey You" (First appearance)
- William Shakespeare's Jedi the Last: Star Wars Part the Eighth
- LEGO Star Wars Battles
- The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special (As disco ball)
- LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
- "First Order Fighters" — LEGO Star Wars 97 (Mentioned only)
Sources[]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "BB-8 and Other Astromech Droids" — Star Wars Encyclopedia
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 BB-9E in the Databank (backup link)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Star Wars: Extraordinary Droids
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Star Wars: Droidography
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Star Wars: The Last Jedi: The Visual Dictionary
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Star Wars Battlefront II
- ↑ Phasma
- ↑ New LEGO Leaks Reveal Snoke and THE LAST JEDI Spoilers by Marnell, Blair on Nerdist (May 30, 2017) (archived from the original on June 2, 2017)
- ↑ Force Friday II: First Look at Select New Star Wars Products on StarWars.com (backup link)
- ↑ Star Wars Droids App by Sphero
- ↑ Star Wars Blips — "Hey You"
- ↑ Rian Johnson (@rianjohnson) on Twitter: "Just be thankful we didn't stick with his obscenely adorable on set nickname, BB-H8" (content obsolete and backup link not available)
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 The Art of Star Wars: The Last Jedi
- ↑ Designing Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Part 3: Developing BB-9E, a Droid Fit for the First Order on StarWars.com (backup link)