The wheels are certainly turning over at Lucasfilm as they prepare to go full swing into putting together ‘Star Wars: Episode VII’. After director J.J. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan recently replaced Michael Arndt on scripting duties and the release date was pushed back to December of 2015 after requests of a longer delay were denied, it looks like the crew is really ready to jump into the pre-production process. What proof do we have of that? Well, Bad Robot’s Twitter feed has all the proof that we need.

The official Twitter account of Abrams’ production company released the first behind the scenes photo for ‘Star Wars: Episode VII’ this week. The picture features the director with a few workers, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy, and a very familiar droid that many have potentially been looking for. Check out the post below, followed by an enlarged version of the photo:

 

Previously, there have been rumors of Anthony Daniels coming back to reprise his role as C-3PO, so we should have known that if that worry wart was around then his trusty companion wouldn’t be too far behind. Of course, this picture doesn’t exactly confirm Artoo’s involvement in the film, but it doesn’t deny it either. So until something official surfaces, let’s just assume that everyone’s favorite droid is the first cast member announced for the first installment of the new trilogy under the Disney banner.

After seeing this picture, are you excited to see that things are actually starting to happen for ‘Star Wars: Episode VII’? Do you think that this picture means that R2-D2 will be appearing in the movie? Besides Han, Luke, and Leia, who have already been rumored to return, what other beloved characters from the original trilogy would you like to see come back? Sound off in the comments.

‘Star Wars: Episode VII’ blasts off into theaters on December 18, 2015.