BB-8 puppeteer confirms he’s finished filming Star Wars Episode IX

BB-8 puppeteer Brian Herring revealed he finished filming his scenes for Star Wars Episode IX. Here’s an analysis of what this means for the upcoming film.

One character who often gets lost in the conversation of favorite characters from the new Star Wars trilogy is BB-8, Poe Dameron’s faithful BB-astromech droid.

BB-8 was first introduced in Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens, and assumed the R2-D2 role in the film as the protagonist’s lovable droid sidekick. BB-8 played a prominent role in Episode VII as he was trusted to deliver the only known map that led to the missing Luke Skywalker and also flew with Poe Dameron in the assault on Star Killer Base.

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He also appeared in The Last Jedi and was sent on a mission with Finn and Rose, and was seen escaping Crait with the remainder of the resistance at the end of the film.

BB-8’s role is still unclear for Episode IX, which is set to be the finale for the new trilogy of films, meaning that it could be the last we see of everybody’s favorite BB unit for the foreseeable future in live-action movies (BB-8 does appear in the animated Star Wars Resistance TV series).

As of now, the future of Star Wars films is a bit unclear. Recently, Lucasfilm stated that Episode IX will be a course correction for the film and aside from upcoming The Mandalorian and Cassian Andor-led television series, no new live action movies or shows have been announced.

Brian Herring, is the puppeteer for BB-8 and has assumed that role from Star Wars Episode VII-Episode IX. He has also worked as the Porgs in The Last Jedi, as well as a few other minor puppets that have appeared in the films.

On Friday, he posted on his twitter that he had finished filming his scenes for Episode IX, and from what he wrote, it sounds like that’ll be it for his career as BB-8 for the time being.

In the tweet, he stated the following:

"Today was a wrap on BB-8. The last 5 years have been an amazing ride. Thanks to @jjabrams, Kathleen, Neal, #teamBB8 especially Dave and the entire cast & crew for the time of my life. Few people get to live the dream. Thank you. #StarWars #IX #puppeteer #BB8 #StarWarsEpisodeIX."

To me, this is a pretty clear indicator that there are no immediate plans to include BB-8 in future live-action installments after Episode IX.

Now, of course, this does not mean that Episode IX is completed by any means, as there are still 10 months until release and most of that time will be spent editing the final film and developing the CGI into the movie.

We do expect the trailer for the final installment of the new Star Wars Trilogy to be released in the coming months, either as soon as during the Superbowl or in April as a part of Star Wars Celebration, and we can expect to get our first look of BB-8 in it.

Regardless of what you think of the new trilogy of movies, BB-8 has been on of the most enjoyable parts of it. Despite being a droid, it has shown to have a lot of personality and several memorable moments throughout the films.

Personally, my favorite was when it used a lighter tool to give Finn a “thumbs up” in Episode VII.

Thank for all your work as BB-8 over the past 3 movies @BrianHezza. I hope to see you in again in a future Star Wars movie.

Star Wars: Episode IX is scheduled to release worldwide on December 20.