8D8

Originally designed by Roche Hive and the Verpine species, 8D8 was an 8D-series smelter droid whose initial programming was for basic duties in ore processing plants. However, a lobotomy and reprogramming altered his purpose to serving in the droid torture chamber within the palace of Jabba Desilijic Tiure, a Hutt crime lord, located on the planet Tatooine. He became a dedicated assistant to EV-9D9, a female EV-series supervisor droid in charge of Cyborg Operations, aiding her in the intimidation of the palace's droids to keep them in line. His actions resulted in significant suffering for many droids.

In the year 0 BBY, 8D8 was engaged in torturing a power droid while EV-9D9 conversed with Bossk, a Trandoshan bounty hunter, about the location of 261, a rebellious Imperial astromech droid who had briefly been among the palace's droid workforce before his escape. In 4 ABY, not long before the Battle of Endor, after Jabba obtained R2-D2 and C-3PO, 8D8 was inflicting pain on a GNK-series power droid by applying a heated iron to its feet while EV-9D9 assigned the new droids to their roles. Following Jabba's death, the palace's droid staff, including 8D8, were all deactivated.

After Jabba's demise, Bib Fortuna, his majordomo, seized the throne and assumed control of Jabba's criminal empire. However, around 9 ABY, Boba Fett, a retired bounty hunter who previously worked for Jabba, killed Fortuna and claimed the throne with the help of Fennec Shand, an assassin. Fett, now the new Daimyo, formed his own gotra using Fortuna's resources and territories, and he reactivated 8D8 to serve as a strategic and diplomatic aide.

When officials from Mos Espa city arrived to pay tribute to Fett as the new Daimyo, 8D8 announced each guest as they entered and accepted their offerings on Fett's behalf. After receiving a gift from Garfalaquox, an Aqualish who led Mos Espa's Aqualish crime family, 8D8 introduced Dokk Strassi, a Trandoshan and the head of the Strassi family, and took the don's gift to Fett. The following guest was expected to be Mok Shaiz, the mayor of Mos Espa, and 8D8 announced his arrival as the next individual entered the throne room. However, the entering Twi'lek corrected the droid, clarifying that he was Shaiz's majordomo. 8D8 observed as the Twi'lek majordomo offered no gift for the mayor and instead demanded one, which was refused, leading to his departure.

Following the majordomo was the droid UK2-B, who escorted two captured Gamorrean guards who had previously served Jabba and Fortuna. 8D8 introduced the two prisoners and suggested that their audible torture would serve as a warning to anyone considering challenging Fett. Despite the Daimyo's refusal to torture, 8D8 argued that projecting strength was necessary to be accepted as Daimyo. Instead, Fett, referencing the guards' loyalty to their former employers as 8D8 had mentioned, offered them a chance to pledge their loyalty to him in exchange for their freedom, which the Gamorreans accepted.

Shortly after, Fett and Shand were ambushed in Mos Espa by six assassins from the Order of the Night Wind. The Gamorreans who Fett had spared aided in defeating the attackers, and Shand captured one of the attackers alive, bringing him to the palace. When the assassin refused to provide information to Fett, the Daimyo inquired about what they knew of the captive, to which 8D8 responded that he was a member of the Order of the Night Wind and commanded a high price.

Shand argued that the Night Wind assassins were overpriced, but 8D8 insisted that their reputation was renowned and that the prisoner would not reveal any information. He added that they feared no one, leading Shand to drop the prisoner into the rancor pit. The assassin, believing there was a rancor in the pit, succumbed to his fear and confessed that Mayor Mok Shaiz had hired him. Subsequently, Fett and Shand, accompanied by their prisoner, visited Shaiz to address the situation with the mayor.

Later, 8D8 presented Fett with a history of the territories that had belonged to Jabba the Hutt and Bib Fortuna. When initially displaying the businesses protected by Jabba on a holographic display, he hesitated to speak the Hutt's name, fearing it might offend or threaten Fett. However, Fett was offended by 8D8's hesitation, so the droid apologized before continuing. 8D8 explained the unstable alliances that Fortuna had relied upon to maintain power and that Fett's new subjects were observing to determine what kind of leader he would be. As Fett and Shand discussed the assassin attack from before, one of the Gamorrean guards arrived with news that one of Fett's vassals wished to speak with the Daimyo.

8D8 translated the guard's words and confirmed that there was no scheduled appointment. Despite this, Fett agreed to see the visitor. The visitor, accompanied by the other Gamorrean guard, introduced himself at 8D8's prompting as Lortha Peel, a water-monger, and claimed that no one respected the new Daimyo. The droid angrily interrupted the vendor, but Fett allowed Peel to speak. Peel and the Daimyo discussed the unrest among the residents of Mos Espa, and the water-monger requested Fett's help in removing the Mods, a group of cybernetically enhanced individuals who were stealing from him. Fett visited the mods, but after hearing their side of the story, he hired the gang members instead.

Shortly after, "the Twins," a pair of Hutts and cousins of the late Jabba the Hutt who desired to claim their relative's former territories, discovered that Mayor Shaiz had promised Fett's territories to the Pyke Syndicate. Consequently, the Twins abandoned their claim on Tatooine and traveled to Fett's palace with a peace offering. 8D8 interrupted Fett's dinner with Shand to inform him of the Hutts' arrival and their gift. Fett and Shand spoke with the Twins, who informed Fett of their reasons for leaving, without mentioning the Pykes by name, and presented him with a rancor.

While Fett was training with the rancor, a request was made for another meeting between him and Shaiz. However, news arrived from the city hall that the mayor was unavailable for at least twenty days. 8D8 interrupted Fett's time with his new rancor to deliver this news to the Daimyo. As a result, Fett instructed the smelter droid to have Shand "suit up" for an immediate visit to the city hall. Fett and Shand traveled there and discovered that Shaiz was collaborating with the Pykes.

Fett later hosted a banquet with the leaders of Mos Espa's crime families, hoping to secure their support against the Pyke Syndicate. With 8D8 standing to the side between two Aqualish guards, the Daimyo began his address. When Garfalaquox inquired about Fett's proposal, 8D8 translated the Aqualish leader's words.

As Fett's initial proposal received little support, he instead requested that the dons remain neutral in his feud with the syndicate. When Garfalaquox agreed to the terms, 8D8 translated the Aqualish's agreement.

Fett and Shand gathered allies to assist them against the Pyke Syndicate. Upon learning that the Pykes were attacking, Fett and his allies positioned themselves in Mos Espa, with 8D8 joining the Daimyo alongside Shand, the Twi'lek majordomo, and Din Djarin, a Mandalorian bounty hunter, at the ruins of the Sanctuary cantina. The syndicate dispatched Cad Bane, a Duros bounty hunter, and some Pyke back shooters past Fett's sentries to their location, where 8D8 stood guard outside. The droid then went inside to inform Fett that a visitor had arrived.

While Fett confronted Bane, 8D8 remained inside, but was soon joined by the others when they received news that the crime families of Mos Espa had betrayed the Daimyo's forces. While Shand departed to counterattack, 8D8 stayed with the rest as they awaited the arrival of Pyke forces. When Pyke troops arrived outside, the majordomo rose from beside 8D8 and convinced the Daimyo to allow him to negotiate with the enemy, with the droid observing the exchange.

8D8, a slender 8D-series smelter droid from Roch Hive, was a tall humanoid droid with a featureless white pair of photoreceptors and a body that stood 1.83 meters in height, designed for exceptional durability. He was originally a heavy-duty droid intended for industrial tasks. The droid also featured a logic processor module on his chest. Like many 8D-series droids, 8D8 harbored resentment towards the more advanced protocol and astromech droids.

Once a cruel industrial droid, 8D8 underwent lobotomization and reprogramming to embrace sadism and work in Jabba's droid torture chamber, sometimes torturing other droids for his own pleasure. 8D8 also enjoyed listening to Sy Snootles' albums at ear-splitting volumes. While serving Boba Fett, the smelter droid supported the tradition of projecting strength to solidify leadership on Tatooine, even suggesting the torture of two captured Gamorreans to the new Daimyo. 8D8 recognized a Night Wind assassin by his affiliation and reputation, and he cynically told Fett that the assassin would never cooperate.

Initially, 8D8 was hesitant to mention Jabba the Hutt's name to Fett, fearing it might offend the Daimyo. When Fett questioned this behavior, the smelter droid claimed that the Daimyo had felt threatened and then apologized when his master was insulted by the excuse. 8D8 was assertive with Lortha Peel, interrupting the vendor in a scornful manner when the man claimed that no one respected Fett. Despite interrupting Fett's first training session with his new rancor, the droid disregarded the Daimyo's insistence that he was busy and continued with the news he had.

8D8 was conceived for the 1983 film Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, the concluding chapter of the Star Wars original trilogy. In the film, the droid was portrayed as a puppet, sharing its body structure with BG-J38, another droid featured in Jabba's palace.

8D8 was reintroduced to live action in the Disney+ series The Book of Boba Fett, beginning with the premiere episode, "Chapter 1: Stranger in a Strange Land," directed by Robert Rodriguez and released on December 29, 2021. In the series, Matt Berry provided his voice. Chris Bartlett was credited as the performance artist for UK2-B in Chapter 1, although the specific character this credit referred to was initially unclear. Given that the episode also featured a droid voiced by Berry, some fans and online publications speculated that Berry's character was actually UK2-B, prompting Pablo Hidalgo of the Lucasfilm Story Group to Tweet that UK2-B was a different character from 8D8.

The Databank on StarWars.com mistakenly used an image of 8D8 for the "Astromech (in Jabba's Palace)" entry, despite 8D8's canonical droid model not being an astromech droid. The entry was later updated to feature an astromech droid that first appeared in "Chapter 3: The Streets of Mos Espa" of The Book of Boba Fett, directed by Rodriguez and released on January 12, 2022.