Star Wars Day: 10 merch ideas to start your collection on May the 4th

4. BB-8

Originally, yours truly was not sold on BB-8 as a new droid character. He’s small, round, and orange. Then, though, we got to the thumbs-up scene with Finn and BB-8, and that was about when yours truly was sold on the little rolling droid. I imagine this was not an uncommon experience.

To be completely honest, the Sphero version of BB-8 is not as large as the one on the big screen. As you can see in the video above, he fits in a kid’s hand. But it does make authentic noises, and you can control him with an app.

(Unfortunately, he does not have a lighter concealed inside of him to give you the thumbs-up whenever you like, but that was probably a safety … and plastic melting … issue.)

You can, however, run a Mystery Science Theater 3000-type of night, as Sphero’s page notes that he will actually react to showings of The Force Awakens and Rogue One. He might not talk like Tom Servo or Crow, but he’s cute enough that it probably doesn’t matter.

According to StarWars.com, the droid is currently $20 off through May 7, making this a great time to pick him up. Who knows? They might even add in a The Last Jedi watching function, although it might just be horrified and sad beeps depending on what happens in the movie.