10 Best Droids In Star Wars

R2 vs. BB8... who wins?

Star Wars BB8 R2D2
Lucasfilm

Naturally, the first groups that come to people's minds when they think of Star Wars are the Jedi and the Sith. The battle between the two disparate sides of the Force defined the Skywalker Saga across nine core movies as well as various animated series, comic books and more. But there's a lot more to Star Wars than that.

Various alien species play huge roles in all aspects of the stories. Even more important are the criminals, smugglers and bounty hunters who seem to be prolific throughout the galaxy. They add the grit that makes the narrative actually interesting. If it was just violent space monks fighting each other with light sticks all the time, the whole thing would get really boring really fast.

Fortunately, there are also droids.

The prevalence of artificial life in the Star Wars Universe is a massive part of what sets it apart from similar science fiction stories. They vary greatly in size, shape and purpose. But more importantly, they vary greatly in personality. Star Wars has always done an incredible job of making their artificial lifeforms into unique, engaging characters, right from the earliest moments of A New Hope in 1977 when two droids made a break for Tatooine.

Here are the droids that stand out above the rest...

10. Huyang

Star Wars BB8 R2D2
Lucasfilm

Some droids only appear in very specific stories, ones that fit into a precise place in the overall narrative. This is the case with Huyang, an ancient Mark IV architect droid. But the place Huyang fits in the Star Wars story is incredibly important, particularly to the Jedi Order.

For more than a thousand years, Huyang helped Jedi younglings in their efforts to construct their first lightsabers. On board The Crucible, he would accompany them to the planet Ilum where they would be found by their kyber crystals through the Force. Then, he would help them build the defining weapon of the Jedi.

Fans of The Clone Wars would remember him best from a brief arc depicting him and Ahsoka Tano travelling with a group of younglings to Ilum. The mission was hijacked by everyone's favorite pirate, Hondo Ohnaka. In the end, it was one of the most memorable adventures of Huyang's long life.

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Ian Goodwillie is a freelance writer based out of Saskatoon, SK, Canada. He has a BA in English Literature from the University of Saskatchewan and completed the Writing Program at Vancouver Film School. More importantly, Ian is also a wrestling fan, comic book reader, video game player and photographer. He loves to write and writes about what he loves. Ian's also an unrepentant, unapologetic Cougar Town fan, a show he will defend until the day he dies.