The Voice Behind BB-8 and Other Awesome 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Trivia
The most anticipated film of the year is undoubtedly Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and the movie is filled with interesting details that connect it to the original trilogy, as well as current pop culture. Here is some most awesome trivia about Episode VII, including a fun fact about the adorable droid BB-8.
The voice of BB-8
The scene-stealing astromech droid may have sounded like it communicated with a series of beeps and clicks, but those adorable noises were actually made by Trainwreck star Bill Hader and Ben Schwartz from Parks and Recreation! The Saturday Night Live actor shared his experience with Drew McWeeny of Hitflix, saying director J.J. Abrams had used a sound effects app on his iPad.
"It looked ridiculous, but it made BB-8's voice," Hader said. "At first I tried doing a voice, but we all agreed it sounded too human."
The new cantina song
Abrams also found a way to create an entirely new song for the tribute cantina scene in The Force Awakens. The director shared on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon that he approached Hamilton: An American Musical star and composer Lin-Manuel Miranda to co-write the music playing in the scene. The revelation instantly led to an influx of Twitter posts featuring Hamilton and Star Wars mashups that can be found with the hashtag #Force4Ham.
Fans who are hoping to get a copy of The Force Awakens soundtrack and listen to the new cantina song could be disappointed; the collaborations between Abrams and Miranda were not included in the album filled with John Williams' music.
Adam Driver, method actor
The recent Rolling Stone article that covered almost everything about the cast of Episode VII also revealed the actor who played Kylo Ren stayed in character on and off-screen, sometimes keeping his mask on after scenes had wrapped. Although a masked co-star walking around with a lightsaber might seem scary, John Boyega was very supportive of Driver. "Do your thing, man," he said in support of the Girls star, adding that he was impressed with Ren's performance.
The birth of Captain Phasma
The journey to finding the right design for Driver's character also led to the conception of another cool-looking villain. The costume for Gwendoline Christie's chrome-armored Stormtrooper was originally pitched for Kylo Ren, however Abrams rejected it because it didn't quite reflect the character's hero worship for Darth Vader. Good thing the design wasn't immediately thrown away; Abrams thought it would make a cool-looking villain, so he kept it to create a stormtrooper leader, and Captain Phasma was born.
Daniel Craig's mystery stormtrooper
The man who plays James Bond has vehemently denied playing one of the First Order's elite soldiers, but it has been revealed that he did appear in The Force Awakens. But which one is he? Watch out for SPOILERS ahead.
Craig portrayed the stormtrooper guarding Rey (Daisy Ridley) -- and he ends up being subjected to the Jedi Mind Trick. After a few tries, Rey manages to get him to remove her restraints and let leave with the door unlocked -- oh, and drop his weapon as well.
Haven't seen the film yet? Star Wars: The Force Awakens premiered Dec. 18 and is showing in theaters worldwide.