8D-J8

"You there! Can I interest you in a juicy ronto wrap? Best in this quadrant!"

―8D-J8 offers a ronto wrap to Remex Io^[5]

8D-J8 was an 8D-series smelter droid manufactured by Roche Hive. At one time, the droid was aboard the sail barge of Jabba Desilijic Tiure on the planet Tatooine. He was later purchased by the butcher Bakkar and brought to the Outer Rim planet Batuu, where he was reprogrammed by the droid builder Mubo to serve as the pitmaster turning the spit at Bakkar's Ronto Roasters restaurant.

In 34 ABY, 8D-J8 offered Kendoh Gang member Remex Io a Ronto Wrap, which the gangmember declined. He was also turning the spit and mumbling to himself when the local Salju brought the Resistance spy Vi Moradi to the restaurant for food. During the occupation of Batuu by the First Order, the droid's owner complained to Mubo about his programming, and the droid builder reluctantly agreed to reprogram him again.

Biography[]

"Who brought this smelter droid? Shouldn't he be with the Jawas?"

―Ree-Yees and Yarkora have a conversation about 8D-J8^[1]

MerchantRow-GE1 — 8D-J8 offers Remex Io a Ronto Wrap.

8D-J8 was an 8D-series smelter droid manufactured by Roche Hive,^[1] a Verpine-controlled droid manufacturer.^[6] At some point, the smelter droid was on the Khetanna,^[1] a sail barge belonging to crime lord Jabba Desilijic Tiure,^[6] on the Outer Rim planet Tatooine and witnessed a conversation between^[1] the Gran^[7] Ree-Yees and^[1] the Yarkora^[7] Saelt-Marae, who were discussing why the droid was aboard the barge instead of with the local Jawas.^[1]

At some point by the year 34 ABY,^[8] the droid had been purchased by the butcher Bakkar on Tatooine^[2] and programmed by the droid builder Mubo on the planet Batuu for service at the Ronto Roasters eatery in Black Spire Outpost, where he^[9] turned the spit to cook meat for Bakkar, who owned the restaurant.^[2] During that year,^[8] the droid offered a Ronto Wrap to the Kendoh Gang member Remex Io, who declined the offer, instead requesting a meiloorun juice for himself and a young kid. 8D-J8 and the gangmember then lamented the presence of the First Order on Batuu as a TIE/es assault shuttle flew overhead.^[5] The droid was also turning the spit when Resistance spy Vi Moradi was taken to Ronto Roasters by the local woman Salju for food.^[10]

Later that year,^[8] Bakkar communicated his frustrations with 8D-J8 to Mubo, complaining about how the droid talked non-stop and thought he was a master chef. To remedy that, Mubo asked if Bakkar had deactivated and reactivated the droid, later exclaiming he had reprogrammed 8D-J8 four to six times. Bakkar threatened to put a restraining bolt on him, causing Mubo to cave in and agree to show up later, fitting the request into his busy schedule.^[9] During the occupation of Batuu by the First Order, the historian Eloc Throno mentioned 8D-J8 in his book Traveler's Guide to Batuu.^[2] The droid was also mentioned by the chef Strono Tuggs in his cookbook The Official Black Spire Outpost Cookbook, which suggested the pitmaster be given more credit for the meats at Ronto Roasters than Bakkar himself.^[11]

Characteristics[]

"Of course, most of the credit should probably go to his pitmaster, a former smelter droid named 8D-J8."

―Strono Tuggs credits 8D-J8 with the quality of the meat at Ronto Roasters^[11]

Bakkar-Cookbook — 8D-J8 was programmed to turn the spit for Bakkar but dreamed of a glamorous life.

An 8D-series smelter droid,^[1] 8D-J8 had yellow photoreceptors and tan plating^[3] and was capable of storing internal data recordings.^[1] He also talked constantly, much to the annoyance of his owner, Bakkar, and he believed he was a master chef, while in actuality being programmed simply to turn the spit at Ronto Roasters^[9] and ensuring the meats were cooked to perfection. He stayed with Bakkar after leaving Tatooine, and during Throno's visit, the droid never left the side of the grill.^[2]

8D-J8 idolized DJ R-3X and other droids who managed to make it beyond their programmed duties and managed to keep an upbeat attitude in light of his mundane job, maintaining a dream of one day becoming a droid chef^[12] and muttering cheerfully to himself about his prospects for a glamorous future.^[10] According to Tuggs, 8D-J8 was good enough at his job to be credited more for the quality of the grilled meats than Bakkar himself.^[11] The pitmaster showed frustration at the presence of the First Order in Black Spire Outpost, lamenting the potential loss of business he would face and calling them "Sithspit."^[5]

Equipment[]

"You gotta reprogram this droid. I can't take it anymore!"
"He turns the spit, right? Mmm-hmm! That's what I programmed him to do! You're welcome!"

―Bakkar and Mubo argue over 8D-J8's programming^[9]

8D-J8 turned the spit at Ronto Roasters by rotating a handle forward and backward.^[3] He also carried a tray of food and drinks when offering items to Remex Io.^[5]

Behind the scenes[]

8D-J8 Ronto Roasters — Concept art of 8D-J8 and Ronto Roasters by Richard Lim and Erik Tiemens

8D-J8 was created as an Audio-Animatronic character for the real-life restaurant Ronto Roasters,^[3] which first opened as part of the theme park land Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at Disneyland Park on May 31, 2019.^[13] The droid was announced prior to the opening on February 28 of that year in a Disney Parks Blog article titled "Building Batuu: New Details Released about Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge,"^[4] and he made his first appearance in the first issue of Marvel's Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge comic-book miniseries,^[5] which was written by Ethan Sacks, illustrated by Will Sliney, and released on April 24, 2019.^[14] Prior to the opening, a post on the blog erroneously referred to 8D-J8 as a "former settler droid," rather than a smelter droid.^[13] Concept art for Ronto Roasters that included 8D-J8 was created by Industrial Light & Magic concept artist Richard Lim and Lucasfilm Ltd. concept design supervisor Erik Tiemens.^[15]

8D-J8-and-porg — The annoyed 8D-J8 waves at a porg as it flies toward grilling meat.

8D-J8 was featured in the 2020 Star Wars Galaxy of Adventures animated short "Black Spire Outpost,"^[16] which has been stated by Lucasfilm Story Group member Matt Martin to be non-literal within Star Wars canon.^[17] In the episode, while on Batuu, the Wookiee Chewbacca chased down a porg as it flew throughout Black Spire Outpost, eventually being attracted to Ronto Roasters by the smell of the meats being grilled. The porg landed on 8D-J8's head before flying toward the meat as the droid waved annoyedly at it, only to be captured by the Wookiee.^[16]