We’ve heard a lot of rumors since Star Wars: Episode VII was announced, most of them involving which characters will be featured and which actors from other Star Wars movies may be reprising their roles.

But now comes the first official announcement of one character you will in fact be seeing in the movie. It’s being reported that R2-D2, the little astromech droid that could, will definitely be showing up somewhere in Episode VII. Even cooler, he’ll be made by fans.

Last week, this image was shared by Bad Robot on the Twitter. It shows R2, director J.J. Abrams, producer Kathleen Kennedy, and a pair of unknown fellows.

As it turns out, the pair of fellows is Lee Towersey and Oliver Steeples are two passionate fans, who also happen to build real, working droids from the Star Wars universe as part of the R2-D2 Builder’s Club. Things went from there, as Steeples explained:

So now the duo are working on Star Wars: Episode VII as part of the creature effects team. Next time you think it’s silly to put your skills out there, remember this.

The news should come as no big shock, as R2 was spotted in both director Abrams’ Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness not too long ago.

[Source: Star Wars Blog]