Earlier, we mentioned that two new characters from The Rise of Skywalker – Boolio and Babu Frik – were revealed as part of the merchandise for the film.
Well, on Wednesday, Star Wars released an image of Babu Frik from the film, as well as a description of the tiny character:
“The tiny Anzellan droidsmith, first glimpsed in toy form during the Triple Force Friday livestream event, works among the Spice Runners of Kijimi and can reprogram or modify virtually any droid — regardless of the security measures protecting its systems.”
Our first look at Babu came on Triple Force Friday, when he was revealed as an accompaniment to the C-3PO Black Series figure. There, we got a sense of the size of Babu Frik relative to the protocol droid – and Babu is quite tiny.
But additionally, his inclusion with C-3PO in the Black Series packaging, as well as what Anthony Daniels said during the Triple Force Friday livestream that hinted at him sharing scenes with the little alien, suggested that there was a connection between C-3PO and Babu Frik. That looks even more likely when we read how Star Wars described Babu: he works on Kijimi and can reprogram any droid regardless of the security protocols. Without delving much into spoilers in this article, this lines up well with some details that have been reported about the film.
So altogether, I feel pretty confident in saying that Babu Frik plays a significant role when it comes to C-3PO’s red eyes, first glimpsed in the D23 sizzle reel for the film.
And if that’s the case, then it’s likely that C-3PO is being reprogrammed here for a reason important to the plot of the film. It is very interesting how much C-3PO has been a focus for the marketing so far in this film, and that suggests he will have a significant part to play on our heroes’ journey. And at some point in the film, the heroes arrive on Kijimi and come into contact with Babu Frik, who probably works on 3PO to reprogram him for some reason – which results in the red eyes.
But regardless of any of that, Babu Frik is absolutely adorable and I love him.
Star Wars Thoughts 