Honestly, if I could make Alan Tudyk star in every Sci-Fi & fantasy film/television show, I would. Probably best known for his role as the cunning pilot Wash in Joss Whedon’s Firefly series, Tudyk is no stranger to the science fiction & fantasy genres; he’s starred in films such as I, Robot, and A Knight’s Tale, and beloved television shows like the aforementioned Firefly, and Dollhouse. No one was disappointed when it was announced that Tudyk would be playing Diego Luna’s droid companion, K-2SO, in the next installment of the Star Wars franchise.
Tudyk spoke to StarWars.com about playing the character of K-2SO and gave a little glimpse of the droid’s personality, which director Gareth Edwards describes as “… the antithesis of C-3PO with a little bit of Chewbacca’s personality in a droid’s body.”
“Kaytoo was formerly an Imperial droid, so he used to be on the other side. He was a security droid and then Cassian, Diego Luna’s character, who owns Kaytoo, has done a memory wipe and reprograms Kaytoo to be a Rebel with the Alliance. Through that process, Kaytoo’s personality changes. I approached it as if he were freed, almost like a governor on an engine that holds the personality back. The Empire was much more of a regimented world where you’re much more forced to be in servitude of the Empire, which historically is the case. When he is reprogrammed, his personality comes out, which is a bit odd. At Star Wars Celebration Europe, they showed a little bit of a clip of him. There was no sound to it; I narrated it. You see Felicity Jones’ character hand me a bag, and she and Diego Luna’s character walk off. And I stand there holding the bag for just a moment, and I just drop it, because I’m not into holding her bag. [Laughs] C-3PO would definitely hold the bag and watch over it. Kaytoo is maybe a bit too honest. At that moment, he’s willful. It makes him a really fun character. For me, it made him much more human. I was very free to act within the confines of the script, but there were a lot of moments I could find, especially with such good actors, to express and be the unique character that Kaytoo is.”
K-2SO certainly sounds like the comic relief we’ll be getting in Star Wars: Rogue One by the looks of what Tudyk describes above. Though, being Diego Luna’s character’s bodyguard, I doubt he’ll be all fun and games. I’m putting my money on a K-2SO fight scene in the movie that’ll put those stupid Battle Droids from Clone Wars to shame. All we can do is wait and find out! Star Wars: Rogue One comes out December 16th.