There was a major character RUDELY cut from the end of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”
The ending of Star Wars: The Force Awakens almost had Luke meeting Rey — and BB-8 — for the first time.
But, because the droid is just so darn lovable and the most adorable thing this side of the galaxy, he was, unfortunately, cut from the end of the movie. That’s not the real reason, but let’s just go with the fact he was scrapped because he’s “too cute.”
By now, you know how The Force Awakens ends. After a galaxy-wide search, Luke Skywalker is finally located on his isolated Jedi Island. Our new hero, Rey, gives him a simple offering — his long-lost lightsaber. Will he take it? Will he return to his Jedi ways or completely abandon them forever? What does he do all day besides stare out at the ocean, anyway?
Joining Rey on this mission are Chewbacca and R2-D2. However, BB-8 was supposed to be there, not R2. In the original script, Force Awakens director, J.J. Abrams, had BB-8 on this journey. When Last Jedi director, Rian Johnson, heard this, he asked a HUGE favor — could the droids be swapped?
“I asked [J.J.] if R2 could come with Rey, and if BB-8 could stay behind with the Resistance,” Johnson explained to Entertainment Weekly. “Originally it was BB-8 who went with Rey, which makes sense for the story in a way. But I asked, ‘Can you do me this solid and switch the droids?’”
The reason behind this is that Johnson wanted Luke to have a very familiar face with him. Think back: Luke and R2 have been together since that one fateful day on Tatooine when R5-D4 completely crapped out and C3-PO persuaded Owen and Luke to take R2 instead. THE REST IS HISTORY.
The Last Jedi will dive into Luke’s reason for exile, and R2 being there to comfort the Jedi makes sense. Besides, there are still big plans for BB-8. He’s going to be hanging out with everyone’s favorite X-Wing pilot boyfriend, Poe.
I like whenever Poe calls BB-8 "buddy" pic.twitter.com/g6wKEdDTUT
— Rachel Paige (@rachmeetsworld) May 2, 2017
And even though we know BB-8 can handle stairs, maybe it’s best that he stayed behind on this journey. We don’t want him getting *too* excited and accidentally rolling off the Jedi Island cliffs.
