I keep reading that Star Wars: The Force Awakens fans have warmed to the stormtrooper who shouts “Traitor!” at Finn, and gone so far as to dub him “TR-8R” (cute). Like with most things The Force Awakens, it looks like people love imitation, and they’re trying to turn him into the next generation’s Boba Fett—a character who has a minor distinction but whose popularity far outweighs their objective appeal. Personally, I’m a little bummed that a weapon exists outside of a lightsaber that can stop a lightsaber. It makes it less special.
Nevertheless, people have glommed on to this minor character, and Lucasfilm is happy to give the fans what they want. According to THR, it turns out he briefly appeared in Greg Rucka’s tie-in young adult novel Star Wars: Before the Awakening, and his name is “FN-2199.” He previously trained with Finn, and that’s why he’s angry enough to take things personally.
The man inside the armor is Liang Yang, a stunt performer who previously worked on Edge of Tomorrow, Game of Thrones, and Kingsman: The Secret Service. The voice is provided by Skywalker Sound sound editor David Acord, who has worked on Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith, The Force Awakens as well as the Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels animated series.
While “TR-8R” looks pretty much dead following his brief screentime, maybe he’ll get his own spinoff some time down the line since they’ll never stop making Star Wars movies.
For more on Star Wars: The Force Awakens, take a look at some of our recent coverage provided at the links below:
- ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Is Now the Highest-Grossing Domestic Film of All Time
- Simon Pegg on His ‘Star Wars’ Journey from ‘A New Hope’ to ‘The Force Awakens’
- ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Toys Making Fans Ask, “Where’s Rey?”
- Will ‘The Force Awakens’ Success Convince Disney to Release Future ‘Star Wars’ Movies in December?
- Fantastic ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Set Photos Revealed by Cinematographer Dan Mindel
