MONEY

An 'R2-D2' Dreamliner is coming to this galaxy

Laura Mandaro
USA TODAY Network
The design of All Nippon Airways, painted as R2-D2 from Lucasfilm's Star Wars films.

SAN FRANCISCO — This R2-D2 jet won't fly to Cloud City, but it will probably reach Tokyo.

Japan's All Nippon Airways said Thursday it has entered into a 5-year Star Wars Project that will start with a 787-9 Dreamliner dressed in the livery of R2-D2, the chirping robot from the Star Wars film franchise. All Nippon says the jet will start flying on international routes this autumn.

TODAY IN THE SKY:See more photos of the R2-D2 Dreamliner

It's not disclosed which international routes — never mind intergalactic ones — the R2-D2 jet will fly. ANA operates nine flights out of North America, including from its hub in Los Angeles. It will launch a Tokyo-Houston route in June.

Fans of R2-D2 and the crew from George Lucas' original space opera trilogy had neared a core meltdown Thursday over the trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

The seventh in the franchise that started in 1977, the latest film has plenty of elements from the first three — including Chewie, a smirking Han Solo and yes, R2-D2, the friendly and sometimes stubborn robot rehabilitated by Luke Skywalker.

That was good news for a generation of filmgoers for whom the original trilogy has assumed creation-myth status.

All Nippon's Boeing Dreamliner R2-D2 has been painted in the blue-and-white stripes of R2-D2 on its fuselage. ANA, which made the deal in agreement with The Walt Disney Co. (Japan) Ltd., notes that the blue-and-white markings mirror its own colors. Plus, it likes R2's style:

"Highly loyal and whenever he faces challenge, he comes up with an original idea to succeed the mission," reads the airline operator's website.