A little girl who passed away is being memorialized in the new Star Wars movie
For those of you who read my post a while back about what I went through with my own son can appreciate how emotional this article made me.
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The Heartwarming Story Behind R2-KT, And How She Joined Star Wars Canon
Theres a little droid thats appeared in Star Wars in the last couple of years, R2-KT. Shes an astromech with a special purpose: memorializing a little girl who passed away in 2005. Now, it looks like shell appear in bigger things.
In 2004, Albin Johnson and his wife noticed that their daughter Katie was having some trouble: she kept falling down. After a doctors visit, they received horrifying news: their daughter had an inoperable brain tumor, and she only had months to live. The 501st Legion (which had been founded by Johnson) rallied to his cause.
At Church, shortly after the diagnosis, he had an idea: why not create an R2 unit for Katie, to watch over her? The R2 Builders club began to put together a droid for the family once they learned what Johnson wanted to do, and after a suggestion from his daughter Allie, it would be painted pink, Katies favorite color.
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Mary Franklin of Lucasfilm asked me to pitch the idea to Kathleen Kennedy (Lucasfilm President), and after hearing the story of our pink ambassador of hope Lucasfilm requested we ship her off to London early last year. Quick repairs were made and off she went for six months, Johnson says in his email. While he could not disclose just when we could expect to see the pink droid, he was assured that she will definitely appear.
http://io9.com/the-heartwarming-story-behind-r2-kt-and-how-she-joined-1744986951
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I hope they make a new figure of the droid. My son will be getting one if they do.