Droid R2-D2 (Star Wars) Papercraft Model

7 Oct, 2021

R2-D2 (or Artoo-Detoo, phonetically spelled) is an astromech droid, a type of robot that usually serves as a mechanic and backup computer for small spacecraft. Astromech cannot speak; they communicate with electronic beeps via interpreter droid or computer. The fact that R2-D2 can't directly express himself may have helped him fly under the radar and avoid frequent memory wipes, which in turn allowed him to develop a distinct and eccentric personality.

R2-D2 in Prequels

Some time before 32 BBY, droid manufacturing company Industrial Automation created the R2-D2 as part of the astromech droid R2 series. She was purchased and modified by the Royal Engineers of Naboo and presented to the Royal Starship Queen Amidala. R2-D2's quick fix allowed Amidala to escape during the Naboo Trade Federation blockade at 32 BBY. He first met his future partner, protocol droid C-3PO, when the ship made an emergency landing on Tatooine.

When Padmé Amidala become Senator, he took R2-D2 with him. She later gave the droids to her husband, Anakin Skywalker, after he became a Jedi Knight. R2-D2 served as maintenance droid for the movie star Anakin during most of the Clone Wars. Even though it was a protocol to erase droids memory regularly, Anakin let R2-D2 gather information and knowledge without erasing memory so he would get better at his job. This almost put the Republic at risk when R2-D2 fell into enemy hands.

After the end of the Clone Wars at 19 BBY, Obi-Wan Kenobi entrusted R2-D2 and C-3PO - along with Anakin and Padmé's daughter, Leia - to Alderaan Senator Bail Organa. The Droid was forced to flee when pirates attacked Tantive IV and spent the next few years traveling with a succession of various masters, including speeder jockey Thall Joben and explorer Mungo Baobab.

R2-D2 in the Original Trilogy and Beyond

At some point, R2-D2 and C-3PO find their way back to Tantive IV, where they serve under Princess Leia. In 0 BBY, they accompany Leia on a mission to Tatooine to contact Obi-Wan Kenobi. When the Empire attacks, Leia hides plans for the Death Star, Imperial's new superweapon, inside R2-D2.

The droids escape to the planet's surface, where they are captured by Jawas and sold to moisture farmer Owen Lars, and his nephew, Luke Skywalker. Knowing that Obi-Wan was nearby, R2-D2 showed Luke a portion of Leia's footage, tugging at it to release the fastening bolts that let the droid loose. This allows R2-D2 to escape, looking for Obi-Wan on his own.

R2-D2 is finally reunited with Leia when Luke saves her from the Death Star, with the help of Han Solo and Chewbacca. For the remainder of the Galactic Civil War, R2-D2 primarily served as a mechanical droid for Luke's X-wing fighter. He then goes with Luke to the new Jedi Academy in Yavin 4. After Luke is exiled at 43 ABY, R2-D2 leaves his service and returns to Leia. Passed through the generations, he finally came to serve the descendants of Cade Skywalker Luke at 137 ABY.

R2-D2 Personality

Some droids are programmed with personalities, but others will start to develop them if they last long enough without wiping the memory. R2-D2 has avoided memory wipes since at least 19 BBY, when Anakin Skywalker had them, and has become very stubborn and eccentric as a result. At one point, he even refuses to show footage of Anakin and Padmé - even knowing how long Luke has been searching for the truth about his mother - in an attempt to protect Luke and Leia.

Since R2-D2 can only communicate in beeps and whistles, however, the extent of his personality doesn't always come. C-3PO spends much of his time hushing up R2-D2's rude comments and dismissing his useful insights, while Luke seems to be entertaining the droid a lot, perhaps oblivious to R2-D2's level of personality development. One of the few places where R2-D2's speech is actually translated appears Enemy Lines II: Rebel Stand by Aaron Allston and gets to the point quickly:

YOUR FASURE FACIAL SET SUGGESTED THAT YOU DON'T HAVE THE INTELLIGENCE TO RETURN MY NAME FOR MORE THAN NANOSECOND. . "

R2-D2 behind the scenes

In creating the early scripts for Star Wars, George Lucas took inspiration from Japanese samurai films. R2-D2 and C-3PO were inspired by Akira Kurosawa's film Hidden Fortress (1958), which uses two farmers as comic narrators for a historical adventure about the upper class.

R2-D2 is portrayed by actor and comedian Kenny Baker in the Star Wars films. Lucas needed someone small to get inside the robot and maneuver; Baker, who is 3 feet 8 inches tall, earned the share "because I was the smallest man they had seen until then." Separate R2-D2 models, used for scenes when the droid is moving, controlled via remote. Around 18 different R2-D2 models appear in the Prequel Trilogy, as well as CGI for the droid flying and climbing stairs.

Sound designer Ben Burtt called creating the sound of R2-D2 "the toughest challenge" he faced in a Star Wars film. He ended up creating a mix of electronic sounds and himself talking in baby chat. The addition of a human voice aids emotion in R2-D2's expression, even if it has no words.