Press Release
In “Star Wars,” droids are always eager to help out their human masters, drop whatever it is they’re doing when called upon, and sometimes even sacrifice themselves to save others. Right?
Not quite. Introducing Chopper, a lazy, cranky (if ultimately goodhearted) astromech droid, and the latest character revealed from the highly anticipated “Star Wars Rebels” animated series.
“If Artoo is the family dog,” said Dave Filoni, executive producer of the show, “Chopper is the cat.” Chopper is an essential crew member of the Ghost, tasked with keeping the starship running and operable for its band of heroes. In reality, thanks to his many “unique” upgrades and customizations, no other alien, human, or droid could handle the job.
Meet Chopper, Grumpy Astromech Droid | Star Wars Rebels
He can be cranky, he takes his time, and he can sometimes have a bad attitude. But he’s also incredibly loyal and heroic. Meet Chopper, astromech droid of th…
The design of Chopper, a.k.a. C1-10P, takes cues from early Ralph McQuarrie concept art for R2-D2, especially the expressive arms that fold out of his head. As “Star Wars Rebels” takes place four years prior to the events of “Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope,” Chopper’s retro look creates an aesthetic continuity with droids of the original trilogy.
“Star Wars Rebels” is scheduled to premiere in fall 2014 as a one-hour special telecast on Disney Channel and will be followed by a series on Disney XD channels around the world.
5 Comments
At first I was upset that they have this astromech flying in the promotional art. Didn’t they learn anything from the response to Artoo having rocket booster legs? But then I settled into acceptance by thinking, “At least, they told us up front and didn’t spring it on us the 5th movie in.”
I like the scruffy looking design here, much more “Star Wars” to me than clinical Clone Wars design or prequel trilogy.
I’m just happy it isn’t Skippy, the Jedi droid.
Hey, Skippy is awesome.. :(
It’s funny that they say it’s 4 years prior so the droid looks more antiquated except for the fact that they already established that R2-D2 would about 40 years old at the time. So really the exact year wouldn’t matter as much as “this droid model is much older than the R2 one”