For the second year in a row, Disney and Star Wars celebrated “Force Friday” with all new merchandise. This year, it’s The Last Jedi‘s turn for toys and collectibles galore. Along with the already-popular Porgs, BB-9E emerged as the newest character from The Last Jedi, according to Variety.
Does the “E” stand for Evil?
BB-9E looks like an evil reflection of BB-8. The roly-poly droid that stole everyone’s hearts in The Force Awakens will apparently met his match in The Last Jedi. If his black and grey casing wasn’t menacing enough, he’s also got a laser-red eye with serious Hal vibes, a minor key beep pattern, and an evil employer. BB-9E is “part of the Astromech unit of the First Order that keep their starships and machinery operational.” 
So, yeah, whether or not the E is SUPPOSED to stand for “evil” it’s a pretty easy association.
Porgs versus BB-9E
BB-8 has elicited squeals from pretty much every Star Wars fan since well before The Force Awakens released in theatres. Since then, he’s made it on to hats and bags and pjs and cereal boxes and…pretty much if a thing exists, a BB-8 version of the thing also exists.
The Mirror Match. #StarWarsBlips pic.twitter.com/Gi05f5gNBm
— Star Wars (@starwars) September 2, 2017
The Last Jedi continues the trend with both Porgs and BB-9E. Perhaps the darker droid will off-set the Ewok effect that the Porgs are sure to cause. Perhaps it’s just to give BB-8 a droid buddy, which seems possible based on the Star Wars “blip” from their official twitter (see above). Maybe someone will reprogram BB-9E like K2-SO.
What’s your theory on BB-9E? Let us know in the comments below.
Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi releases in the US on December 15th, 2017. The film stars Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Adam Driver (Kylo Ren), John Boyega (Finn), Oscar Issac (Poe Dameron) and Daisy Ridley (Rey). The film was Carrie Fisher’s final performance as General Leia Organa before her passing last December. The Last Jedi introduces Kelly Marie Tran as Rose Tico.
