Sometimes, when the stars align, robot and movie magic can combine to create something new.

BB-8, the fascinating, real-world rolling robot (and breakout star of the still unreleased Star Wars: The Force Awakens film franchise reboot from Disney), was already on the drawing board when Disney CEO Bob Iger met the Sphero team at the Techstars incubator mentorship program last summer.

"Bob sat down with the crew on the first day of [the mentorship program] and said, 'Wow, have I got... a task for you guys,'” Rob Maigret, Sphero's chief creative officer, told Mashable. The Boulder, Colorado-based Sphero makes connected and interactive toys for children of all ages.

Ever since BB-8 rolled out on stage at the Star Wars celebration in Anaheim on Thursday, movie fans and robot aficionados have been, well, sort of obsessed. How does it work? Some guessed that Sphero technology was at the heart of the ball, but that was only half the answer. The quest for all the details has led some to act a bit strangely.

"It’s been madness here,” Maigret laughed. "We’ve had folks show up at the building, show up with inventions, random reporters show up claiming they know me."

During the run-up to the big reveal, Sphero couldn't say a word about the collaboration. "Now that the cat’s out of the bag, we have a lot more flexibility," Maigret said. He still couldn't share many details about how BB-8 works, but was fairly clear on its creation story.

"My understanding is that the [filmmakers] had a vision for what BB-8 was and how he worked and how he looked," he explained. Maigret worked as Disney Interactive's SVP of global creative prior to joining Sphero. "When the [the filmmakers] saw Sphero, they just realized that these guys have used the form factor like we have and when we started talking about how it could actually work, that was the big moment there. The [filmmakers] came up with BB-8; our tech inspired how to make it real."

Replicas on replicas

Knowing how filmmakers and Sphero collaborated, though, is only half the battle. Some have stopped waiting for a full explanation and instead simply built their own BB-8s. Maigret has some praise for Christian Poulsen's pint-sized, working BB-8 replica.

"It was impressive. We loved that someone could do it without product," he said. “I’m not saying it’s as good as the one we’re making.”

That's right: Sphero is building a BB-8 toy that will work very much like the one we saw on stage; Disney plans to showcase it at Disney World and on the red carpet. While Sphero executives couldn't say anything about its size, availability or pricing, they promised it will be authentic to the movie, following both its mobility and the overall storyline.

"What I do find encouraging is that Disney decided to join forces with a technology company to build a toy," Maigret said. "The expectations of what a toy should be is changing. We’re moving away from cheap disposable plastic to something much greater."

More on the horizon

Might this tech company/franchise collaboration lead to future film projects?

“We are encouraged to see what happens when you bring great [intellectual property] to great technology," Maigret said. "I wouldn’t rule out us taking some steps in that direction on our own. Look at my background and see what I’ve done at Disney, you can probably connect the dots.”

We're still months away from the theatrical release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens on Dec. 18, which means it’s unlikely we'll see the toy BB-8 anytime soon. In the meantime, I had to ask again: How does BB-8's cap-like head stay on?

Maigret refused to offer more details and admitted he's enjoying the speculation — while remaining realistic.

"We’re sure the minute someone gets their hands on it, it will be ripped apart in comprehensive detail and the world will know."