The Real Breakout Star of the 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Teaser? Ball Droid

Jordan Zakarin
Updated
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While much attention has been lavished upon the three actors shown (briefly) in the Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer, the real breakout star of the 88-second teaser is the roly-poly little guy that fans have dubbed Ball Droid.

Sorry, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, and Daisy Ridley!

Ball Droid, which looks like the off-spring of R2-D2 and a FIFA soccer ball, has captivated the attention of the Internet. Though the trailer gave no details about the little guy’s origin or purpose in the new film, some fans dug up an old quote from Star Wars designer Ralph McQuarrie that has led to speculation that Ball Droid was derived from the original R2-D2 concept art.

“I think Artoo was just described as a small robot. I thought of him as running on a giant ball bearing — just a sphere, a circle, wheel-like,” he told an interviewer in 1984 (the quotes were republished in 2012). “He had gyros so he could go in any direction on this ball.”

Related: 6 Revelations in the ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Teaser

Here’s a comparison, via /Film:

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Whatever Ball Droid’s origins might be, fans have already made him their own, with written declarations of love, lots of fan art, and even a bold tattoo.

Here’s a fun mashup of Ball Droid and Big Hero 6’s Baymax, drawn by Disney artist Brian Kessinger:

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Here’s a tattoo that a very brave and trusting man put on his leg this weekend:

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A 3-D printing artist who goes by the name lilykill found a way to make a version of Ball Droid at home. You can get the instructions here, which are only useful if you actually have a 3-D printer.

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A fan at ComicBookMovie, working under the assumption that the droid belongs to Daisy Ridley’s character, proposed a blueprint for the actual Ball Droid, as it is seen on screen.

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And if that’s not enough, here is Jalopnik’s deep-dive analysis into how Ball Droid works and where it fits among the rest of the droid universe.

Just imagine how much Ball Droid material we’ll get when Disney releases a full trailer!