Star Wars

Tony Dyson, the man behind the birth of 'Star Wars' character R2-D2 has died.

Sources close to Dyson tell TMZ Tony was recently at a convention in Holland and flew back to Malta where he lives. We're told Tony's girlfriend became worried when she couldn't contact him so she called the cops. When police went to Tony's house, they found his body.

Local reports say police are investigating, but at this time there's nothing suspicious about his death.

Tony was the technician behind the creation of the R2-D2 robot for 'Star Wars: A New Hope' in the '70s. Tony also did robotics work on "Superman II" with Christopher Reeve and "Dragonslayer" in 1981.

He was 68 years old.

R.I.P.

Rihanna dropped a big clue she's a hardcore 'Star Wars' fan just like everybody else Thursday during her night out on the NYC town.

RiRi dined at one of her favorite places ... Da Silvano in the Village.

The skirt's a knockoff of the old movie poster for 'The Phantom Menace' from the prequel trilogy ... so she clearly wasn't dressing to impress ... the original three or 'Force Awakens' is the proper attire for true aficionados.

Harrison Ford's busted leg on the set of 'The Force Awakens' just got the 'Star Wars' production slapped with 4 criminal charges in England.

The U.K.'s Health and Safety Executive brought the charges against Foodles Production Ltd. -- a Disney subsidiary -- claiming it violated health & safety codes when Han Solo went down during filming.

Back in June 2014 ... a hydraulic metal door on the Millenium Falcon slammed on Ford at Pinewood Studios. Foodles will have to face the judge in May.

Good thing they didn't see what happened to Han later during filming!

Mike D from the Beastie Boys was duly impressed J.J. Abrams gave an oblique shout-out to his group in the new 'Star Wars.'

The director named character Ello Atsy after the Beastie Boys album "Hello Nasty," and his helmet appears to have "Born to Ill" emblazoned on it.

It also seems another character, BB-8, may be a vague reference to the number of albums the group has recorded.

"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" is still in theaters -- but we already have major clues about "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," a prequel to the original, 1977 'Star Wars.'

TMZ has obtained pics of what appear to be a classic X-Wing -- the Rebel fighter plane Luke Skywalker famously used to destroy the Death Star.

The new film will reportedly follow a group of resistance fighters attempting to steal plans for the Death Star.

Check out the pics ... this X-Wing has 4 engines, just like the original planes. The X-Wing featured in 'The Force Awakens' is a newer plane with 2 engines.

The pics were snapped at Pinewood Studios where the 'The Force Awakens' was also filmed.

'Rogue One' will be released December, 2016.

Before he was Finn in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," John Boyega was just the suave dude repping the minority in a bunch of educational stock photos.

Boyega copped to taking the gig with Getty Images back in the day after someone shared them on his Twitter page. He says he used the money for a pair of Nike Air Force 1s and drama school ... so money well spent.

Everybody starts somewhere, kids.

J.J. Abrams had a big "thank you" dinner Thursday, no doubt heaping gratitude on Steven Spielberg ... the dude who got him the 'Star Wars' gig.

The most famous directors in the world dined at Craig's in WeHo, where J.J. no doubt profusely thanked the "Jurassic Park" director for singing J.J.'s praised to 'Star Wars' producer Kathleen Kennedy, saying he was a must hire.

Jason Wingreen, who voiced the villain Boba Fett in "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back" and played Harry the bartender on "All In The Family" has died.

Wingreen died at his home in L.A. on Christmas day according to a statement from his son.

Wingreen, who has almost 200 credits to his name also appeared on "The Twlight Zone," "Archie Bunker's Place" and "The Untouchables."

The Hollywood Reporter, which broke the story, said he died after a brief illness.

He was 95-years-old.

R.I.P.

As the new 'Star Wars' film breaks box office records ... its former boss, George Lucas, vacationed in St Barts with his wife.

Lucas has been hanging on Paul Allen's famous yacht, Tatoosh, which is the 43rd biggest yacht in the world.

So while Lucas is missing out on this latest windfall, selling LucasFilm for $4 billion clearly had its perks.

This is the ominous photo that landed an 18-year-old "Star Wars" fanatic in jail.

As we reported, Arthur Charles Roy was taken into custody after posting this pic allegedly designed to threaten another fan who spoiled the plot for him.

Law enforcement says Roy threatened to go to the other guy's school in Helena, Montana and shoot him.

The pic of Roy brandishing a Colt 1911 semi-automatic with a hairpin trigger is the centerpiece of the case against him.

Roy has posted other scary pics in the past.

A teenage 'Star Wars' fan is in jail after threatening to shoot a friend who spoiled the plot.

Cops say 18-year-old Arthur Charles Roy became enraged after a Facebook friend revealed plot points.

Authorities say Roy, who lives in Helena, Montana, sent his friend a photo of himself, with a gun ... threatening to go to the friend's school and shoot him.

'Star Wars' is more powerful than first thought, because some moviegoers become so overtaken by characters like Chewbacca they actually assume their identity.

Comedian Harland Williams was stricken Monday night as he left the ArcLight in Hollywood with fellow comedian Adam Ray.

Everyone in the world is buzzing over the release of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" ... and the TMZ newsroom is no different -- so we whipped up a quick list of our favorite "Star Wars" characters to get you in the spirit for sci-fi.

The latest business to jump on the insane "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" marketing bandwagon will leave you asking, "Is that a lightsaber in your pants or are you happy to see me?"

Sex toy companies have been stocking products geared toward die-hard fans and profiting big time. Fun Factory tells TMZ its sales have shot up 75% because of a spaceship-like product called the Bi Stronic Fusion ... a hands-free self-guided vibrator.

Novelty condom maker Graphic Armor says it launched Star Wars-ish (it's not officially sanctioned) themed condoms earlier this year, and moved several thousand just this month at $2.20 a pop. BTW, they're one size fits all.

Because size matters not.

This is a good sign ... Ronda Rousey getting back to her old, fun, goofy self ... dressing up as a Storm Trooper to watch the new 'Star Wars' movie Thursday night.

Guessing the giant Boba Fett is her boyfriend Travis Browne ... 'cause he's huge.

So, is the force finally coming back for Ronda???

We'll find out soon enough ...

Mark Zuckerberg has turned into the stereotypical Facebook user ... posting baby pics.

The FB honcho showed off his adorable daughter Max dressed up as a baby Jedi, captioning the pic, "The force is strong with this one."

Let's hope the kid is more of Luke than Anakin.