Rolling Droid from Star Wars is Real: How’d They Do It?

Remember that rolling droid from the original trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens? Well, he's not CGI... he's real. And he's spectacular!

Star Wars Celebration began today in Anaheim, California and if the first day is any indication, Star Wars fans are in for a wild weekend. First, J.J. Abrams revealed a brand new Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer, complete with the voice of Luke Skywalker and a chilling appearance by Chewbacca and Harrison Ford as Han Solo.

Carrie Fisher and Mark Hammil appeared on stage to thunderous applause from fans, but what really brought down the house was an appearance by the rolling droid, BB-8. From his appearances in the original teaser and the newest trailer, revealed today, most people suspected that he was just a clever piece of CGI trickery. However, that's not the case, BB-8 is real. Here he is, rolling his way on to the stage... and everyone's hearts:

So how did they do it? Well, that wasn't entirely revealed. J.J. Abrams did applaud the people behind this amazing piece of technology though, saying:

Neil Scanlan and his incredible team… built and puppeteered BB-8 in the movie and did an extraordinary job...  It was better for the actors, it was better for the film itself...  you’ll see their work. It is amazing.

BB-8 was controlled by puppeteers off stage, and I can only imagine that there's a complicated combination of magnets and weights that make him work so smoothly. Here's hoping the eventual Blu-Ray will have an entire disc dedicated to a behind the scenes look at exactly how they did it.