Lucasfilm has officially confirmed that at least one familiar face will be in Star Wars: Episode VII, R2-D2. The studio also said that the droid used in the film will be built by two fans whose work impressed Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy.
Last week, J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot posted an image of the director, Kennedy and members of his team with the droid. But many didn’t know who those two men standing in between Abrams and Kennedy are, until now. In a blog post on StarWars.com, the studio confirmed that they are Star Wars fans Lee Towersey and Oliver Steeples.
Towersey and Steeples are members of the R2-D2 Builders Club, a worldwide group of fans who build astromech droids from scratch. Steeples built his first R2 in 2007 after 10 years of work.
“It all started when Kathleen Kennedy toured the R2-D2 Builders area at Celebration Europe this past summer in Germany,” Steeples explained. “She posed for pictures with us, looked at all the droids we’d built and was very complimentary. I mentioned that the R2-D2 Builders in the UK were available if required, as a semi-joke. When I was contacted to work on the film by [executive producer] Jason McGatlin, it was on her recommendation.”
The two are both U.K. natives, which helps since the film is being made at the famous Pinewood Studios there.
“We know the pressures of filming, prepping, and being able to assure reliability throughout the shoot,” Towersey said. “We have a good knowledge of Artoo, with a large stock of parts for reference and drawings, plus we know what is involved throughout the whole building process, as well as potential problems we need to avoid.”
Two two said that they still have some things to work on, such as the mechanics of the droid.
“It’s a dream come true,” Steeples said. “And I hope I can live up to the expectations of the thousands of R2-D2 Builders around the world, let alone the millions of Star Wars fans.”
Episode VII hits theaters on Dec. 18, 2015.
image: StarWars.com