With all the focus on new characters like Rey, Finn, and Poe in ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens,’ it is nice to know that I am not to the only one interested in knowing the backstory of the amazing little droid introduced in the film, BB-8. Fortunately there is a new mockumentary out, titled ‘BB–8: Behind the Circuits,’ which claims to tell the real story of the little droid’s life and career in Hollywood.
Narrated by Patrick Stuart, the 7 minute expose details how BB-8 was born to robot parents in England (his father was esteemed theater actor Sir Montgomery Bradford), showing an early interest in becoming a thespian. After his school days, BB-8 was part of a number of projects that allowed him to flex his creative muscles, including performances in Greek tragedies, being part of a comedy duo with his old schoolmate Jude Law, and following that up with a long stint playing various robotic characters on ‘Doctor Who.’
Then came the dark times for BB-8, where he grew tired of being type-cast as a robot, losing the starring role in ‘Wall-E’ due to his attitude, and falling into a deep depression (according to John Lasseter, things got really bad for BB-8 on the set of ‘Wall-E,’ and for some reason the robot kept going after Randy Newman). Not even the pranks of his buddy George Clooney could save BB-8 from his depression. Fortunately, he was saved by joining a robot’s rights league, where he learned to appreciate who he was, and it was while promoting this group that BB-8 caught the eye of JJ Abrams, who was casting for ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ at the time.
As you can tell by my brief description, it is a wacky mockumentary, and definitely worth a look, so make sure you check it out below!