It’s pretty obvious that K-2SO is an Imperial security droid, what with that imposing steel frame and hulking height — not to mention the logo of the Galactic Empire branded on his shoulder. It’s also obvious that he’s been reprogrammed by Cassian Andor and the Rebels to help them steal the Death Star plans in Rogue One. But the first official clip for the movie implies that Kaytoo will be a much more important infiltration tool for their mission than we first realized.
In the scene, which has been glimpsed at in many of the trailers, Cassian and heroine Jyn Erso try to escape an Imperial onslaught on the mysterious planet of Jedha. Stormtroopers give chase, some very Star Wars-y music blasts over the soundtrack, and Jyn pulls out her very own version of a police baton to try and get the pesky Imperial platoon off their tail.
But just as she single-handedly dispatches all of the bad guys, she gets a little too aggressive and fires at will at a security droid. Does Jyn mercilessly murder the digitally-induced double agent Kaytoo? Nope, its another security droid unit.
The moment is punctuated by some of actor Alan Tudyk’s dry wit, but it also reveals the extent of how Jyn and Cassian will use Kaytoo to slip past Imperial security in the new film. We’ve seen him being put to good use getting behind enemy lines on Scarif, but it’s obvious that he’ll help them out all over the galaxy by using the easily fooled stormtroopers to their advantage.
Luke and Han had to kill some stormtroopers in A New Hope to do their thing to help Leia escape, and then they basically just relied on R2-D2 and his hacking skills to bypass security on Cloud City or wherever after that. It seems Kaytoo’s outward appearance as a ruthless Imperial security droid is among the most important aspects of the Rebel Alliance’s plans to take down the Death Star.
We’ll see how successful he is in helping Jyn and the Rebels when Rogue One hits theaters on December 16.
