His inspiration, his design and his voice

Andor may have just completed its first season on Disney+, but the star wars the series is still very present in the minds of viewers who could not get enough of it exciting plot and his memorable characters. One of the most endearing was the droid B2EMO, faithful companion of Cassian Andor’s mother, Maarva.

In a new interview with StarWars.com, showrunner Tony Gilroy spoke about how the droid, an instant fan favorite, was created, including the inspiration behind his stubbornly loyal and somewhat hesitant attitude: “The idea was that it was a dog, an older dog “, did he declare. Gilroy praised creature effects supervisor Neal Scanlan and his team for the design, which came together quickly and met with instant success. “We were all smiles,” Gilroy recalled of the moment the prototype was revealed.

And in case you’re wondering about B2EMO’s voice, it comes from a source that’s both surprising and not-so-surprising: veteran Dave Chapman. star wars puppeteer who operated the droid on set. “I remember having a list of audition tracks and watching a bunch of them,” Gilroy said. “My brother John was there one day, and he said, ‘I don’t hear anything here that I like as much as [Dave].’ He goes, ‘This guy is really good.’ And we came back and we were like, “Man, let’s keep it.” So it’s his voice, and it was a great phone call to make – to call him up and say, “It’s your turn. You’re gonna be the voice of this thing. “” Gilroy noted that Chapman, who has provided many on-set voices in his career, only to see the final product trade in an actor for dialogue, was “overwhelmed” by his inclusion in Andor—as much Andor fans were taken by turns by his poignant performance.

First season of Andor is now streaming on Disney+.

Want more io9 news? Find out when to wait for the last wonder, star warsand star trek versions, what’s next for the DC Universe in Film and TVand everything you need to know about James Cameron Avatar: The Way of the Water.