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IG-88 is a fictional droid from the Star Wars universe created by George Lucas. IG-88 appears in The Empire Strikes Back as one of the bounty hunters hired by Darth Vader to locate the Millenium Falcon. While only appearing in one film, IG-88 has become one of the more popular side-characters in the Star Wars mythos, and has become something of a fan-favourite. IG-88 was expanded upon in spin-off books, and another IG model was featured in the television series, The Mandalorian portrayed by Taika Waititi.

Concept and creation
In the initial production of The Empire Strikes Back, IG-88 was simply referred to as "Chrome War Droid" in the script and as "Phultdroid" on set. Lucasfilm has no record of the technician who operated the IG-88 puppet, and the role was instead credited to Bill Hargreaves, who designed the robot alongside Steve Short. Despite this, IMDB credits Paul Klein to the role, despite no known person of that name was credited as a member of the special effects crew on the film. IG-88's head is a recycled prop from the Mos Eisley Cantina set from A New Hope that were used as drink dispensers.

Fictional character biography
After being activated, IG-88 reportedly killed everyone in the lab that created him, destined to become a bounty hunter. IG-88 became one of the most feared bounty hunters in the galaxy, alongside Boba Fett. Eventually, IG-88 consorted with Jabba the Hutt, which led to him receiving a call from Darth Vader to track down the Millenium Falcon and capture Han Solo alongside other bounty hunters Boba Fett, Bossk, 4-LOM, Dengar and Zuckuss. IG-88 and Fett trailed the Millenium Falcon to Bespin, where Fett defeated IG-88 and left him for scrap to deliver Han Solo to Jabba the Hutt on Tattooine. IG-88 would attempt to undergo a software infiltration of the Second Death Star but was thwarted by astromech droid R2-Q5.

IG-11
IG-11 is a similar IG-series assassin droid from the television series The Mandalorian portrayed by New Zealand actor/director Taika Waititi. While initially a bounty hunter, IG-11 is reprogramed by Ugnaught Kuiil after being killed by The Mandalorian for attempting to assassinate The Child. IG-11's reprogramming turned him into a nursing droid who could still protect if necessary. IG-11 eventually sacrificed himself to allow The Mandalorian (now revealed to be named "Din Djarin"), The Child, former Rebel Shock Trooper Cara Dune, and Bounty Hunter Guild Officer Greef Karga to escape freely. IG-11 noted the despair in Djarin's voice, as IG-11 had saved his life moments earlier, and walked through lava to the end of a tunnel where Stormtroopers were waiting to kill the group, and initiated a self-destruct sequence. Waititi's performance was praised by fans, citing an emotional end to the character's development. The actor compared his character to that of The Terminator, stating, “He’s like a Terminator, but he looks a bit more wonky looking and tall and lanky.” Ironically, the character’s death at the end of the season has been seen by some as being similar to the death of the T-800 in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Despite this, many fans seemed disappointed by the character's apparent lack of involvement throughout the season, appearing in the first episode and only returning in the final two episodes. Many fans felt that the character was marketed highly due to being similar to IG-88, as well as being portrayed by Waititi, only for the character to feel underutilised. During the initial announcements of the series, many fans believed that Waititi was in fact, playing IG-88. Show executive producer and director Dave Filoni commented on this misunderstanding stating, "So a droid like IG-88, if you know the Expanded Universe and the Star Wars history, there are a lot of stories around him or what might've happened to that particular droid. So out of respect for people that have been with this franchise a long time, it's like, 'well if we do something with this space, would that be contradicting those stories?'"

Reception
Despite a limited screentime, IG-88 has become a fan favourite Star Wars character. IG-88 has been featured in merchandise and video games ever since his first appearance. In years since the release of The Empire Strikes Back, the character was given a backstory, and retconned to be revealed as the deadliest bounty hunter in the Star Wars mythos.

IG-88 has made numerous appearances in popular culture. Most notably appearing in the Family Guy episode, Something, Something, Something, Dark Side as well as in Robot Chicken: Star Wars as multiple household items. This is due to series creator Seth Green noticing that the prop used for drink dispensers in Mos Eisley Cantina was recycled and used as IG-88's head.