--- description: The company behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens' rolling BB-8 droid confirmed Monday it's making a toy version. title: You'll Be Able to Buy Star Wars' Coolest New Droid image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc8d78ecc0de996da/6987eba78e0601323745e2f7/469979416.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # You'll Be Able to Buy _Star Wars'_ Coolest New Droid  by [Alex Fitzpatrick](/author/alex-fitzpatrick/)  ## Alex Fitzpatrick Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 20, 2015 9:54 PM CUT  BB-8 onstage during Star Wars Celebration 2015 on April 16, 2015 in Anaheim, California. BB-8 onstage during Star Wars Celebration 2015 on April 16, 2015 in Anaheim, California.Alberto E. Rodriguez—Getty Images  by [Alex Fitzpatrick](/author/alex-fitzpatrick/)  ## Alex Fitzpatrick Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 20, 2015 9:54 PM CUT BB-8, the newest droid in the _Star Wars_ universe, is not only real, it’s also coming to your living room. [Sphero](http://www.gosphero.com/ "undefined"), a Boulder, Colorado-based company that makes smartphone-controlled spheres, confirmed Monday it made the bi-spherical rolling robot for December’s _Star Wars: The Force Awakens._ It’s also making a toy version of the character destined to become a fan favorite to rival R2-D2 and C-3PO. Sphero did not reveal a release date or price point for the company’s BB-8 toy, but it is letting interested consumers sign up for updates through a [cryptic landing page](http://www.gosphero.com/starwars/ "undefined"). “The experience is going to be king with this thing,” Sphero Chief Creative Officer Rob Maigret told TIME in a Monday interview. Maigret wouldn’t give away the secret sauce behind what makes BB-8 tick (magnets, perhaps?). But he did suggest the BB-8 toy could revive a fondly remembered part of the original _Star Wars_ experience: Kids begging their parents to buy Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker toys letting them recreate scenes from the movies. “Our real goal here is that this should feel as close to what you just saw on the screen as possible,” he says. “And the relationships that you’ve seen BB-8 have in the film in the world of _Star Wars_, you can now fill that role. BB-8 is now yours.” Sphero has plenty of incentive to make sure its BB-8 toy flies — or, more accurately, rolls — off the shelves. Toy sales are by far the most lucrative part of the _Star Wars_ financial empire. Forbes [estimated](http://www.forbes.com/2007/05/24/star-wars-revenues-tech-cx%5Fag%5F0524money.html "undefined") back in 2007 that action figures and plastic spaceships accounted for $9 billion of the franchise’s sales, more than $3 billion more than the movies themselves. Sales of _Star Wars_ toys are also known to [get big boosts](http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/star-wars-movies-launch-fivefold-increase-in-licensed-toy-sales-says-npd-report-75848762.html "undefined") when new films (or even remastered old ones) hit the silver screen, so being in the business ahead of the Dec. 18 _Force Awakens_ release is a good place to sit. Maigret wouldn’t divulge how much of the BB-8 toy revenue Sphero will get to keep, but it’s safe to say it isn’t nothing. Still, while he admits “it would be really nice to sell a gazillion BB-8s,” Maigret thinks it would be “even better” if “a lot of fans \[were\] extremely happy with what we provided them.” “We’re fans,” he adds. “For the folks here at Sphero, we’re freaking out. Like, we get to make BB-8? Think about that, man. We get to make it!” ### See the Concept Art For the Original Star Wars Movie Trilogy  C-3PO and R2-D2 Courtesy of Lucasfilm  The Millenium Falcon Courtesy of Lucasfilm  Darth Vader Courtesy of Lucasfilm  Y-Wings line up against the Death Star Courtesy of Lucasfilm  An X-Wing versus TIE fighters Courtesy of Lucasfilm  Hoth Courtesy of Lucasfilm  Echo Base Courtesy of Lucasfilm  Battle of Hoth Courtesy of Lucasfilm  Battle of Hoth Courtesy of Lucasfilm  Cloud City of Bespin Courtesy of Lucasfilm  Luke versus Darth Vader Courtesy of Lucasfilm  Luke Skywalker versus Darth Vader Courtesy of Lucasfilm  Dagobah Courtesy of Lucasfilm  Jabba's Palace Courtesy of Lucasfilm  Jabba's Palace Courtesy of Lucasfilm  Luke Skywalker versus a rancor Courtesy of Lucasfilm  Jabba's fall Courtesy of Lucasfilm  Endor Courtesy of Lucasfilm  B-Wings Courtesy of Lucasfilm  Luke Skywalker versus Emperor Palpatine Courtesy of Lucasfilm ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3828913/star-wars-force-awakens-bb8-toy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3828913/star-wars-force-awakens-bb8-toy/"},"headline":"You'll Be Able to Buy Star Wars' Coolest New Droid","datePublished":"2015-04-20T21:54:13.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:44:54.344Z","description":"BB-8 will roll onto store shelves","url":"https://time.com/3828913/star-wars-force-awakens-bb8-toy/","keywords":["Tech","Star Wars topic","innovations"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc8d78ecc0de996da/6987eba78e0601323745e2f7/469979416.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alex Fitzpatrick","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alex-fitzpatrick/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc8d78ecc0de996da/6987eba78e0601323745e2f7/469979416.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"BB-8 Star Wars","caption":"BB-8 Star Wars","creditText":"Alberto E. 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