Oliver Steeples and Lee Towersey from the R2-D2 Builders Club Already Working on Rogue One.
Back in November, 2013 Lucasfilm announced that Star Wars fans and members of the worldwide R2-D2 Builders Club, Oliver Steeples and Lee Towersey will be joining the Creature Effects team for The Force Awakens. Now it appears that their skills of building real Astromech droids will be also used in Rogue One…
Our Cantina member cTownDrama noticed an interesting article on the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly. The article pretty much confirms that the guys behind Artoo are already working on Rogue One. Before anyone jump to any conclusions, keep in mind that Steeples and Towersey were responsible not only for the R2-D2 unit in The Force Awakens but also for several other droids (the BB-8 unit is handled by another team). So this piece of news is in no way confirming R2-D2’s appearance in Rogue One.
Here’s a transcript from the article:
Many Star Wars fans have build their own R2-D2s, but only two turned the hobby into a job on TFA. In 2013 Oliver Steeples attended SWCE, where he met Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy and “cheekly” told her that he was available if she ever needed an R2-D2. Six months later Steeples got the call from LFL, and he drafted his friend Lee Towersey, whom he knew through the R2-builders community, to help hiim out. “I still have to pinch myself,” says Towersey, who says he is currently working on Star Wars Anthology: Rogue One.
Founder of SWNN, MNN and The Cantina forums.
Born on April 24, 1980.
This guy has got a great job,
the R2d2 in that photo looks a little too plasticky for my taste,
but the R2 in the trailer looked okay though.
Wait, so is there like, no one else in the crew that knows how to make R2 droid units?
That’s somewhat odd.
I think he looks weird because he’s so pristine. We are used to our R2 with some dings, smudges, and a little carbon scoring. But, yeah…dream job. Maybe Rogue One will have something to do with Rogue Squadron (as inititally speculated). Every X-wing will need an astromech head sticking out of it after all.
“Wait, so is there like, no one else in the crew that knows how to make R2 droid units?
That’s somewhat odd.”
It’s a good way of showing their dedication to fans, whilst hiring someone with a portfolio that speaks directly to what they’ll be working on. Plus it points out, as they love to do now, again that they’re using practical effects.
Perhaps also they want people to appreciate their effort going in to R2, knowing that Mr. Baker’s involvement will be little to nothing.
Well yeah, JOIN the droids Team.
But by all appearances these two guys ARE the Team in it’s entirety, but then again, press coverage is always like that, over simplifying.
In regards to the pristine R2 unit, sure he’s clean without dents, I’ve got nothing against that, but what bugs me is the material.
That is plastic, I’ve never seen metal look THAT white without any reflection or anything, it’s perfectly matte, like textured plastic.
I sort of hope R2 doesn’t look like that in the movie, he just looks like a toy in that photo.
These guys are living their dream! Good for them!
How do you even learn how to do this? That’s a very expensive hobby. Now they get paid for it. A jobby lol
These guys do amazing work! Great attention to detail, etc. Glad they are working on the new movies!
But, what happened to the guys responsible for building the droids on the six other SW films? Were they fired or simply not interested? Too expensive? Irresponsible crackheads?
Their droids all got bad motivator units.
Looks like ILM divested their practical effects team in 2005, and concentrated on cgi effects after that. So if that’s right then they wouldn’t have had a department to do that work anymore when the new Star Wars movies rolled around.
Wow, what a great job to have. Good luck to them.
Very cool! Looks like we’ll be getting some good rogue one news to tide us over until SW7 release.
That’s really cool for them and all, but these guys build remote control props, they don’t build real Astro droids lol
Real astro droids?? Come on, dude….. for all intents and purposes, these are real astro droid since ASTRO DROIDS DO NOT EXIST IN REAL LIFE
It would be cool if R2 and 3p0 are in it, and I’d think there’s a good chance of that. Even if it’s a short camero, but it makes sense that they would be there during the planning of the mission and things of that nature. But I’m sure they’re also working on other droids also