Watch out,The Lord of the G-Strings: The Femaleship of the String Threepio: there's a new R2-D2 in town.

Scottish actor Jimmy Vee is the guy inside everyone's favorite astromech droid in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Lucasfilm has confirmed to Mashable.

Vee replaced Kenny Baker, the original Artoo from 1977 through 2015, when The Last Jediwas filmed in the UK and Ireland last year. Baker was 81 and infirm at the time; he died during filming.

Vee's casting in the Force Awakenssequel was something of an open secret. Not only did UK tabloids say that Vee would be stepping into Baker's shoes as early as December 2015, but Vee himself has been retweeting Star Wars-related tweets from his fellow cast members, including Daisy Ridley and Mark Hamill, for more than a year.

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His agency tweeted an announcement Monday afternoon; Lucasfilm's confirmation makes it official.

Vee is probably best known to nerds for his role in Doctor Who. He played a red, tuxedo-wearing alien who insisted on being called by his full name, Bannakaffalatta, in the Christmas episode "Voyage of the Damned," starring alongside Kylie Minogue and David Tennant.

He also starred in the movie Panas Lofty, and Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stoneas an uncredited Gringotts goblin.

As with Kenny Baker, Vee is only required in scenes where Artoo is two-legged. The three-leg version of the droid is remote controlled.


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Topics Star Wars