6. R2-D2 Was Nearly A Lead Character In The LEGO Movie
An air of apprehension seemed to surround The LEGO Movie pre-release, although of course it went on to exceed all expectations by topping the box office, earning unending critical praise and even causing a shortage of LEGO products in toy stores across America. The film could have been just that little bit more awesome, however, had Disney not decided to throw their toys out of the pram, so to speak. Writer/director team Chris Miller and Phil Lord revealed that, despite the impressive roster of LEGO characters they managed to put together, there were plans to include R2-D2 in the narrative, and in a major way. Miller went as far as describing R2's proposed role as a "Batman-level character", while Lord admitted that he never foresaw using the Star Wars droid as a problem on account of his voice not being human. Unfortunately he was wrong, and while Disney did give them some leeway in letting them briefly use Han and the Millennium Falcon (as well as Lando and C-3PO) they drew the line at their character appearing as one of the main protagonists. Miller believes that this move undermined the spirit in which the film was being made, saying that "a kid doesn't have lawyers that won't allow the toys to play together."
