BB-8 is a difficult act to follow, after the spherical droid became one of the breakout stars of The Force Awakens thanks to its adorable mannerisms and timely thumbs-up gestures. Then again, R2-D2 is no slouch either, and is arguably one of the most iconic characters in all of Star Wars, but there’s a new droid hoping to join that robotic pantheon, and his name is K-2SO (Kay-Tuesso).
Voiced by Alan Tudyk – no stranger to the sci-fi genre – K-2SO is all set for a debut in the imminent Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, where he will be lending a much-needed helping hand to the Rebel cause. A reprogrammed Imperial security droid, K-2SO’s mere presence is enough to arouse suspicion among the Alliance ranks, but as this new international TV spot attests, the towering insertion agent is fiercely loyal to Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) and their fellow Rebel fighters.
After training their sights on the Death Star, the Empire’s ultimate weapon capable of wiping out entire planets, Jyn Erso and Co. stage a daring heist to acquire blueprints to said space station. Doing so won’t be easy, of course, and as Disney’s massive marketing push begins to reach its crescendo, not a day goes by without another new clip, teaser or even TV spot finding its way online. All of these are designed to drum up excitement, of course, but they also shed some light on the near-impossible task that awaits for Jyn Erso and her ragtag crew.
When Rogue One checks into theaters on December 16, it’ll not only stand as the first of Disney’s planned anthology movies, but also the first Star Wars film to ditch the franchise’s iconic opening crawl.