'Rise of Skywalker' trailer spoilers: Who's the alien working on C-3PO?

In the final trailer for The Rise of Skywalker, released Monday night, we finally got our first live-action look at the cutest new alien in the Star Wars galaxy, and he’s a droidsmith named Babu Frik.

Spoilers follow for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

Despite how adorable the little critter is, you should know that he will probably wind up killing C-3PO before the end of the movie — or at least the droid equivalent of killing, which is wiping his data bank. In the trailer’s most heart-wrenching scene, C-3PO says he’s “taking one last look … at my friends.” Babu Frik is mechanic working on Threepio as this happens, so this clarifies why we’ve seen footage of a red-eyed C-3PO in previous images and footage. Babu Frik does something to Threepio, sacrificing the droid to (hopefully) save the day.

First glimpsed during a Triple Force Friday livestream event held in late September, Babu Frik’s big debut came on October 2, when the following image was shared across the many Star Wars social media accounts.

In a StarWars.com blog post, he’s described as a “tiny Anzellan droidsmith” who “works among the Spice Runners of Kijimi and can reprogram or modify virtually any droid — regardless of the security measures protecting its systems.” According to the Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition, a canonical source book released October 4, Kijimi is the homeworld of Keri Russell’s Zorri Bliss, and she’s the leader of the Spice Runners, a group of smugglers.

So when we see TIE Fighters flying towards a huge, icy floating island, that’s probably Kijimi. This also explains why Poe, Finn, and Rey are all wearing huge coats in the scene where Threepio has the back of his skull opened up.

Given what we know of his backstory and all of this new context provided in the final Rise of Skywalker trailer, it seems like Babu Frik has a crucial role to play.

Here’s where some theories come into the mix: At one point in the trailer, Rey and Kylo Ren destroy a statue that looks like Darth Vader. Rey is holding what looks like an ancient dagger. Previous leaks indicate that this might be the Dagger of Mortis, an ancient Sith blade written in a language that is indecipherable.

But the dagger is one of the MacGuffins that’s crucial to the plot, so the Resistance brings it to Babu Frik, who can unlock C-3PO in some fashion that will allow him to decipher the blade. The only way to do this, however, is to over-write C-3PO’s database. In what’s probably the start of the film’s third act, Threepio sacrifices himself to help the heroes win the day — and it would only be possible with the help of little Babu Frik.

Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker will be released in theaters December 20, 2019.

Watch an episode of The Star Wars Show from early October for more information about Babu Frik: