BB-8, Captain Phasma, Leia Organa and C-3PO. But what about all those characters from the backgrounds of Star Wars movies that you just missed because you were paying attention to the story?

And for more exclusive Star Wars news, come back to PEOPLE.com every day until it hits theaters Dec. 18 Like R2, though, the real BB-8 is a (somewhat) working robot, not a CGI character.

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. BB-8 is the cutest character in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Like the more famous R2-D2, he's an astromech droid who helps ...

BB-8 is about to meet its dark side ... find and found "not one could behave and move as the character did in the movie." Related: 'Star Wars: Episode IX' gets summer 2019 release date But ...

Like Sphero's other toys, the BB-8 ... into Star Wars' trademark holo messages -- those are recorded and viewed on the application. Patrol, meanwhile, shows a real-time log of BB-8's movements ...

How to Draw CB-23 (and BB-8) from Star Wars Resistance This class is a two in one with learning how to draw both CB-23 and BB-8 from the animated series Star Wars Resistance. Both droids look the ...

The movie, “Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens,” is still ... Sphero developers plan software updates to give BB-8 more character. From an educational perspective, Sphero’s robots are used ...

Star Wars: The Force Awakens ... personal with one of the movie's new characters. Thanks to robot maker Sphero, fans can buy their very own version of BB-8, one of the astromech droids from ...

The Star Wars prequels, sequels, and spin-off movies have introduced even more great characters like Padmé Amidala, Qui-Gon Jinn, Darth Maul, Rey, Finn, Poe, BB-8, Kylo Ren, and Cassian Andor.

If I wasn’t already sold, this tiny flash of emotion – this miniscule ‘thank you’ moment – cemented a place for BB-8 in the ‘favourite Star Wars characters of all time’ list in my head.