A black-plated astromech droid belonging to the BB-series, BB-9E served the First Order. This cutting-edge astromech droid operated during the New Republic Era aboard the Supremacy, the flagship of Supreme Leader Snoke, where it maintained machinery and enforced security protocols.
During the First Order-Resistance War, BB-9E discovered Resistance operatives had infiltrated the Supremacy. The droid's subsequent actions led to Captain Phasma's stormtroopers apprehending Finn and Rose Tico before they could sabotage the Supremacy's hyperspace tracker.
Industrial Automaton manufactured BB-9E, a droid owned by the First Order military. It was one of many units responsible for maintaining machinery and enforcing procedures on warships of the First Order Navy. As the First Order sought to conquer the galaxy following the destruction of the New Republic, a war erupted with the Resistance during the New Republic Era. BB-9E was then stationed on the Mega-class Star Dreadnought Supremacy, Supreme Leader Snoke's flagship, performing its routine duties of overseeing machinery, procedures, and potential intruders.
Following the assault on D'Qar, a flotilla of Resistance starships was tracked through hyperspace and attacked by a fleet of First Order Resurgent-class Star Destroyers, with the Supreme Leader's command ship leading the charge. During the attack, BB-9E detected three intruders—technician Rose Tico from the Resistance, the defected stormtrooper FN-2187 known as "Finn," and the freelance slicer "DJ"—who had infiltrated the Supremacy. BB-9E exposed the would-be saboteurs before they could disable the flagship's advanced active tracker system, leading to their capture by Captain Phasma and her troopers. However, the Resistance droid BB-8 evaded the First Order's detection.
BB-9E was a state-of-the-art astromech droid of the BB-series astromech droid line. This droid was constantly alert, employing a keen photoreceptor across all spectra to identify infiltrators, saboteurs, and any threats to Supreme Leader Snoke's flagship. The First Order's perspective on droids led to BB-9E being treated as a mere machine, resulting in a cold demeanor, even for a BB-unit model known for its friendliness. Despite undergoing regular memory wipes to ensure obedience, BB-9E had developed a malevolent personality, displaying particular malice when reporting transgressions.
BB-9E, a dark and gleaming BB astromech unit, featured black-plating and a red, multi-spectrum photoreceptor equipped with a telescoping lens. Standing at a height of 0.6 meters, BB-9E was distinguished by its square-domed head and grilled openings that facilitated ventilation and enhanced sensor transparency.
Equipped with the latest First Order technology, BB-9E carried a shock prod and a range of tools for various functions, including technical assistance and combat.
The initial glimpse of BB-9E occurred when packaging for several LEGO sets from the Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi toy line was leaked on May 26, 2017. The droid was officially unveiled in a preview for the Force Friday II products, released on August 31, 2017. BB-9E also served as one of the three droids in the "App-Enabled Droids" app AR game by Sphero, alongside R2-D2 and BB-8, with BB-9E specifically providing a tour of the Supremacy. The droid made its debut in the non-canon Star Wars Blips episode "Hey You," where it encountered BB-8.
On the set of The Last Jedi, BB-9E was nicknamed "BB-H8," short for "hate."
During the early stages of developing The Last Jedi, Luke Fisher and Jake Lunt Davies created nearly three different designs for BB-9E before settling on the final version featured in the film. These designs primarily affected the droid's head. Furthermore, according to droid and creature effects supervisor Neal Scanlan, its original name was intended to be BB-Hate in order to demonize BB-8.