B2EMO

B2EMO, also known as Bee-two or Bee, was a B2 groundmech salvage assist unit who spent years in the service of the Andor family. An old boxy droid with red plating and a black main sensor, Bee could roll on his wheels over a range of terrains. He used his numerous tools to help members of the human family salvage scrap, and after the end of their scavenging days, he continued to serve as a helper and faithful companion to the family in their home in Ferrix City.

B2EMO's predictable life on Ferrix was disrupted by future Rebel Alliance operative Cassian Andor's involvement in the early rebellion against the Galactic Empire, which brought Imperial forces down on the planet. Bee projected a holographic message from Maarva Andor at her funeral procession calling on the people of Ferrix to fight the Empire. This launched the Ferrix Riot and forced him to flee the planet in the company of a group of Rebel sympathizers. B2EMO escaped to start a new life in a farming settlement on the agriworld of Mina-Rau.

Biography

Life as a salvager

B2EMO served Maarva Andor and her husband Clem Andor in his primary function as a salvage assistant ^[9] by 24 BBY.^[10] Around that time, the three traveled to the planet Kenari to undertake a salvage mission to retrieve unused fuel nodules from a wrecked Separatist corsair. Before the humans boarded the wrecked vessel, Bee-two analyzed its atmosphere and found it safe to breathe. Clem, still nervous, wanted to leave as quickly as possible, but Maarva insisted they press on; for confirmation, she asked B2EMO the nodules' asking price.^[9]

Before the droid could answer, the trio came upon the young orphan Cassian, scared and separated from his tribe. At the same moment, B2EMO detected the approach of a Republic frigate. Clem wanted to abandon Cassian and escape, but Maarva pointed out that the Republic military might kill him. She told Bee to give her a drowser that he was carrying. Maarva used it to sedate Cassian. She carried the boy back to their hauler while B2EMO followed behind, pulling the salvaged fuel nodules. Clem and Maarva brought Cassian back to their home on the planet Ferrix, where they raised him as their son.^[9]

Farewell to Cassian

By 5 BBY, Clem had been killed by Imperial troopers,^[11] but B2EMO still served Maarva and Cassian on Ferrix. By this time, Bee was showing his age in his faded and scratched exterior, his slower processing speed, and his need to recharge before performing certain functions. Still, he remained a beloved and trusted member of the family.^[3] Since he needed to spend hours recharging, he spent most of his time at home at Maarva's side.^[4]

That year, Cassian traveled to the planet Morlana One to pursue his secret search for his sister. While there, he was accosted by two guards of Pre-Mor security, and he fought and killed them. When Cassian returned to Ferrix, he called B2EMO, asking him to bring a wrap to treat his injured hand. Bee rolled through town early in the morning to deliver it, at one point using his electro-shock prod to drive away a Corellian hound that was trying to use the droid as a toilet. When Bee-two arrived, Cassian refused to tell him where he had been and furthermore instructed him to lie, saying if asked that he did not know where Cassian was and had not seen him. Since this would constitute two lies, B2EMO would need to go home to recharge. Bee missed Cassian and asked to come with him to wherever the human was going, but Cassian told him to go on home.^[3]

Bee's lies were not enough to keep the incident on Morlana a secret. Pre-Mor Deputy Inspector Syril Karn, obsessed with finding the person who killed the guards, had sent out a bulletin seeking information on a man from Kenari living on Ferrix—a description that would inevitably lead them to Cassian. B2EMO received the bulletin and repeated it to Cassian that evening, when he finally returned home to Bee and Maarva. Cassian decided that his best hope was to flee the planet without telling his mother, and he again enlisted Bee-two's help. Bee found it difficult to accept that his beloved human was leaving. Cassian gave the droid a comlink and told him about a stash of hidden credits to pass along to Maarva. Bee tried to convince Cassian not to leave, to no avail.^[8]

However, an inspection team from Pre-Mor security was already landing on Ferrix to begin their search for Cassian. The team arrived at the Andor house not long after B2EMO. When the team's Sergeant Mosk found Bee in a back room, Karn began to question him, ordering his power supply to be cut as a form of intimidation. At that moment, Cassian hailed the droid over the comm, which everyone in the room could hear. Mosk was able to trace the direction of the signal and find Cassian's location. In the subsequent ambush, four corpo security troops were killed, and Cassian escaped. Maarva and Bee had to reckon with the idea that they might never see him again.^[9]

Ferrix under occupation

In the aftermath of Cassian's escape, the Galactic Empire took direct control of Ferrix. Not long after, Cassian returned home. He had been recruited into a Rebel team on the planet Aldhani that had stolen a huge supply of credits from the Empire. Bee had received a news bulletin about the heist and told Maarva, though they had no idea that Cassian had been involved. With his share, Cassian wanted to hide somewhere safe and comfortable with his family. Without revealing how he came by the money, he came to their house and tried to convince them to come with him. Maarva soon decided that she and Bee had to stay. Inspired by the news from Aldhani, she wanted to stay on Ferrix to fight the Empire in her own way. The family had no choice but to part ways once again.^[11]

With Cassian gone, his friends Bix Caleen and Brasso became closely involved in Maarva and Bee's lives. The two younger humans came to their house to check on her health.^[12] Meanwhile, both the Imperial Security Bureau and Rebel agent Cinta Kaz were staking out the house in the hope of finding Cassian—the ISB to capture him for his role in the Aldhani heist,^[13] Cinta to kill him because he knew too much about Rebel operations.^[12] They carefully observed Bee's movements in search of clues that could lead them to Cassian.^[13]

A funeral and an uprising

Some time later, Maarva died. Brasso came with Jezzi and some other members of Maarva's social club, the Daughters of Ferrix, to clean out her house. B2EMO watched them, stunned and emotionally numb, and he began shaking so hard that a drink placed on his head nearly fell. Brasso tried to take care of the droid, suggesting he say goodbye to Maarva's body before it was removed from the house. Bee was afraid to be alone and wanted to leave with Brasso; he instead told the droid that he needed to stay behind to help the Daughters. After they left, Bee-two stayed for hours in his charging station, unwilling to leave the house or to accept that Maarva was really gone. Brasso, now responsible for the droid, wanted to bring him back home; he reluctantly agreed to stay in the Andor house for one night to keep Bee company.^[13]

Days later, Ferrix City prepared for Maarva Andor's funeral. The Daughters of Ferrix planned a large public ceremony for such a prominent local citizen and former club president, and B2EMO had the honor of leading the procession down Rix Road together with Brasso, who carried her funerary brick. The Imperials, correctly predicting that Cassian would try to attend the funeral in secret, greatly increased their troop presence around the road to watch the funeral procession. Tensions were already high when B2EMO reached Fountain Square and played a fateful holorecording that Maarva had made not long before she died. Her recording denounced the Empire, praised the spirit of Ferrix, and called for rebellion.^[5]

B2EMO's recording threatened to subvert the Empire's rule on Ferrix, and Prefect Vanis Tigo tried to stifle it by covering the droid's projector with his cape and kicking him to the ground. But Maarva's words had already made their impact: the crowd began to physically attack the assembled troops, launching the Ferrix Riot. Ferrixian Wilmon Paak threw a powerful homemade bomb at the troops; Stormtroopers responded by firing their blasters directly into the crowd. As Brasso helped Wil escape, Cassian's friend Pegla pulled the still-immobilized B2EMO to safety.^[5]

B2EMO, Pegla, Brasso, Wil and Jezzi converged on the shiplot where Pegla worked and hurriedly prepared a Breon Dayvan starship to escape the planet. Cassian arrived with Bix—as the riot raged, he had helped her escape the Imperial headquarters where she was held captive. Cassian did not come onboard, but he promised Bee that he would join the group soon.^[5]

Farm droid

One year later, B2EMO was helping to build a new life with Cassian, Brasso, Bix, and Wil in the grain fields of Mina-Rau.^[14] Bee befriended some other droids and children of their settlement, Council 436, joining their games as they chased each other around.^[15] Cassian left the planet periodically on covert missions for the Rebellion, during which Bee would anxiously wait for his return. The little found family lacked legal permission to live and work on Mina-Rau.^[14] Their precarious status became dangerous when an Imperial force arrived to conduct a supply census while Cassian was caught off-world in a fight between Rebel factions.^[16]

Kellen, a local leader who operated a general store, knew about the friends' status and about Cassian's rebel activity. He did his best to help the humans evade the Imperial inspection and created a fraudulent Emergency Work Order to cover them in case they were caught on the run. They kept their preparations hidden from B2EMO because they knew he would panic if he knew they were leaving. Brasso entrusted him to his new romantic partner Talia, assuming that the Imperials would not scrutinize the droid. When Brasso went to say goodbye, Talia tried to reassure Bee, without much success.^[15]

However, the escape went badly almost immediately. Stormtroopers caught Brasso and shot him while he tried to get away. Imperial Lieutenant Krole cornered Bix alone in their house, told her he knew about her undocumented status, and tried to extract sexual favors in return for his protection; when he tried to force himself on her, she fought back, killing him. Cassian returned to Mina-Rau in the midst of this violence and managed to get Bix and Wilmon into his ship and off the planet. Bee-two was left behind.^[15]

New family

During the next three years, B2EMO remained on Mina-Rau while the three surviving Ferrixian humans became ever more involved in the Rebellion, eventually moving to the main Rebel base on the moon Yavin 4.^[17] Bee-two continued to participate in the community and maintained friendships with both organics and droids, including his new best friend, ARG19.^[18] In 1 BBY, Bix Caleen left the Rebellion, worried that her continued presence would prevent Cassian from serving the cause. She returned to Mina-Rau and reunited with B2EMO and Talia. Their family grew when she gave birth to her child, her son with Cassian.^[7]

Characteristics

B2EMO had a childlike personality, devoted and attached to the humans in his life and anxious when he had to be apart from them. Much of his life was centered on the Andors: Clem, Maarva, and Cassian.^[9] Cassian often departed from Bee-two, first to search for his sister, then to fight the Empire, or (in Maarva's words, which Bee repeated to him) "ruining your health and reputation with friends of low character."^[3] Every time Cassian did, Bee pleaded with him either to stay or to let the droid come with him. Maarva's death was a serious emotional blow, and after this, Brasso came to play a similar role in B2EMO's life.^[13] When the time came for Brasso to leave Bee, he was just as upset.^[15]

Bee wanted to do whatever he could to help his people. He happily did favors to Cassian to help cover up his dealings.^[8] When he and Maarva were detained by the Preox-Morlana authority, B2EMO was prepared to lie and not give away Cassian's location.^[9] After Maarva died, Bee's impulse was to cling to Brasso and follow him to his work; the human convinced the droid to stay home by appealing to his sense of duty, telling him, "The Daughters of Ferrix require your assistance in matters of grave importance." ^[13]

B2EMO was an inquisitive droid, eager to learn about Cassian's activities and whereabouts.^[3] Long after he and Maarva stopped salvaging old ships, Bee remained an important source of information and news for her.^[8] He eagerly shared his opinions as well as information and often interrupted conversations to give his own point of view.^[4]

In contrast to many other droids, B2EMO was treated as a valuable member of his family and community. He and Cassian had a close relationship, and the droid was capable of bantering with him.^[3] Cassian's attitude toward him was a mix of affection and frustration.^[4] The citizens of Ferrix gave him an honorable place in Maarva's funeral procession, and they were ready to rush to his aid when he was assaulted by an Imperial officer.^[13] He was particularly close with Brasso, who comforted the droid after Maarva's passing and stayed the night at their residence to keep the lonely droid company.^[11]

By 5 BBY, Bee was noticeably weary, for a droid.^[4] He was experiencing malfunctions such as vocal stuttering, degraded power supply and data lags.^[3]

Equipment

B2EMO was squat and boxy, a red machine with black sensors who rolled from place to place on high-torque wheels. When fully charged, he had a powerful engine capable of hauling many kilograms of cargo.^[2] He was equipped with a range of tools for different purposes, such as atmospheric sensors,^[9] a retractable storage tray,^[3] towing equipment,^[4] an electro-shock prod that could be used for self-defense,^[3] and a holoprojector capable of making a larger-than-life image.^[13]

Behind the scenes

Origins

B2EMO was created for the Disney+ television series Star Wars: Andor, first appearing in "Kassa," the first episode,^[3] which was released on September 21, 2022.^[20] He returned for the show's second season, which premiered on April 22, 2025.^[14] Writer Tony Gilroy wanted the Andor family to have a loyal companion: an ancient salvage droid who had worked with them for years. Gilroy conceived of B2EMO's character as that of an old family dog^[21][22] and named the droid after his son's corgi, Bemo.^[23] Composer Nicholas Britell created a musical signature for the character.^[24]

B2EMO's design was the work of creature designer Neal Scanlan^[6] and concept artist Jake Lunt Davies, who throughout the process worked closely with animatronic designer Josh Lee to ensure that the droid would translate properly from sketch to screen.^[19] Using the Andor script, the design team considered Bee's relationship with Cassian Andor and with the surrounding world, as well as the actions the story would require him to do.^[25] The team quickly^[22] designed a squat, rectangular droid,^[25] only looking through a few drawings before picking what would become the final design.^[22]

Design

The team designed B2EMO to resemble a toolbox, with the droid's central carousel resembling trays from which instruments could be selected.^[26] The droid's movements were designed so that small gestures and head movements could show recognizable emotions; for example, he had the ability to shrink down to show that he was sad or intimidated.^[25] Matt Denton wrote programming so that when the droid's body rotated, the head moved slightly as if through inertia. Similar programming was added to the droid's drive to create natural-looking movement. His wheels could be extended to allow him to move in an all-terrain mode.^[26] Gilroy and his collaborators loved the prototype when they first saw it at Pinewood Studios,^[22] one of the filming locations for Andor.^[25]

The team built B2EMO from scratch, figuring out every detail including his square figure and red color.^[21] His exterior panels were attached magnetically and could be easily removed and replaced, allowing the same droid model to be used for flashbacks, when he looks shiny and new, and the main storyline, when he looks scratched and dented.^[26]

Production

Bee's movement was an entirely practical effect, controlled remotely. During filming, Bee had three operators: Matt Denton operated the drive, Josh Lee the carousel, and Dave Chapman the head, with Lee Towersey assisting in the performance.^[26] Diego Luna, the actor who played Cassian, thought that acting alongside B2EMO was wonderful because the droid was real. This allowed for improvisation between droid and actor.^[21] B2EMO was also loved by Adria Arjona, Kyle Soller, and Denise Gough, the actors who played Bix Caleen, Syril Karn, and Dedra Meero, respectively.^[28]

Dave Chapman, who operated B2EMO's head, also read his lines during filming. The original plan was to cast an actor and rerecord B2EMO's lines. Tony Gilroy watched several audition pieces for the role before John Gilroy, a film editor and Tony's brother, said he liked Chapman's performance better than any of the prospective actors. Tony agreed; they called Chapman and told him that he would voice the droid.^[22]

Promotion

B2EMO was first revealed to the public as an action figure for Star Wars: The Black Series to be sold exclusively at the San Diego Comic Con in July 2022.^[29] At that convention, the life-sized B2EMO used for the show was displayed to attendees alongside Cassian Andor's costume.^[6]

Appearances

• Star Wars: Andor — "Kassa" (First appearance)
• Star Wars: Andor — "That Would Be Me"
• Star Wars: Andor — "Reckoning"
• Star Wars: Andor — "Announcement"
• Star Wars: Andor — "Narkina 5"
• Star Wars: Andor — "Daughter of Ferrix"
• Star Wars: Andor — "Rix Road"
• Star Wars: Andor — "One Year Later"
• Star Wars: Andor — "Sagrona Teema"
• Star Wars: Andor — "Harvest"
• Star Wars: Andor — "Jedha, Kyber, Erso"

Sources

Notes and references