‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ character names released via trading cards

J.J. Abrams, the film’s co-writer and director, and Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm, have decided to reveal the identities of some of their new characters — and they’ve done it in a retro fashion that should bring a smile to any fan familiar with the phrase Collect ‘Em, Trade ‘Em. The intial card release features the characters played by John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, and Oscar Isaac — as well as that shadowy figure in the snow with the crossguard lightsaber. Also, we no longer have to call that adorable, rolling robot ball droid. Like C-3p0 and R2-D2 before him (her?), that character now has its own alphanumeric moniker — BB-8.