Star Wars: The Force Awakens: where is R2-KT?

This article does not contain any major plot spoilers, but does reference some details and scenes from Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Last month, Star Wars fans across the world were moved by the story of  Star Wars fan Albin Johnson, his daughter Katie (brought up to love Star Wars), and R2-KT: the pink and white droid he had created for her after she was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour.

Modelled after R2-DT, but with pink instead of blue detailing (Katie’s favourite colour), R2-KT was built by the R2 builder’s club: skilled artisans and technicians who also helped create the droids for The Force Awakens. When it became clear that Katie didn’t have much time left and that the model wasn’t going to be completed in time, another droid builder, Andy Schwarz, decided to repaint his R2 unit as a present for the dying girl.

As the touching photograph above shows, the gift was an immediate success with Katie: she instantly threw her arms around the droid, who stayed by her side throughout the last months of her life, before her death in August 2005.

The announcement that R-KT (who previously appeared, in animated form, in the Star Wars TV series The Clone Wars) would have a cameo in The Force Awakens was seen as a promising gesture on the part of JJ Abrams. He understood, it seemed, the love for quirky detail and hidden “Easter eggs” shared by many self-declared Star Wars geeks , but also  appreciated  the deep emotional significance that the franchise holds for its fans.

But where exactly does R2-KT appear in the film?

After watching The Force Awakens  twice, and still, shamefully, failing to spot her, we decided to turn to the internet, and find out exactly where the little pink astromech appears in the film.

The answer, it transpires, is that R2-KT appears not once but three times, all in scenes set on the rebel base (she’s on the side of the good guys, obviously).

After a quick scour of the Facebook discussions on Albin  Johnson’s page, and a plea for help on Twitter from people who have seen the film (and are a bit more observant than us), we can confirm that R2-KT apparently appears:

-          Behind Poe Dameron’s ship during the scene in which he runs towards Finn (we were obviously too distracted by their joyful reunion  to notice)

-          A second time, at the rebel base, on the lower right hand side of the screen

-          At the rebel base at the end of the film, when a injured fighter is being loaded on to a transporter

In another nod towards Albin Johnson and his passion for Star Wars, Abrams also incorporated the logo for the 501st legion into the film.

For those not in the know, “the legion” (founded by Johnson and Tom Crews back in 1997) are a collection of Star Wars super-fans, named after a battalion of stormtroopers who fought during the Clone Wars .

Nicknamed “Vader’s Fist”, the 6000-strong group, who have members all over the world, specialise in accurately dressing up as Star Wars characters: initially they stuck to stormtroopers, but they’ve now expanded to include other villains from the films.

Despite taking costume inspiration from the Dark side, in real life, the group are pretty friendly, regularly taking place in charity events and fundraising.

According to Johnson’s Facebook page, the legion’s red and white logo can be spotted on a flag during the scene set outside Maz Kanata’s forest castle.