Star Wars: 10 Things You Didn't Know About R2-D2
Little-known facts about Star Wars' most iconic astromech, R2-D2.
There's something about droids that often make them the most interesting characters in the galaxy far, far away, and Star Wars just wouldn't be the same without them.
At the top of the pile has got to be R2-D2. One of the first characters we meet in Star Wars, and serving as the main hero for the first part of Episode IV - A New Hope, R2 immediately endeared himself to audiences due to his quirky nature, and despite not having any facial expressions or even speaking English, you always know exactly what he's thinking.
His story doesn't end there though. R2-D2 is one of the most important characters in the franchise, serving alongside people like Anakin, Ahsoka, Obi-Wan, Luke, and Leia, and saving their lives on countless occasions. If droids received medals (which they should), he'd be one of the most decorated, having fought in the Clone Wars, Rebellion, and Resistance.
As a wise person once said, "never underestimate a droid" - especially not this particular little blue-and-white astromech.
10. R2-D2 Toppled More Than Just One Empire
There are some people who just seem to get themselves into all kinds of adventures, and that seems to be the same with droids if R2-D2 and C-3PO are anything to go by.
The Clone Wars series could get pretty weird at times, and in the episode Nomad Droids from season four, they had some of their strangest escapades. On one occasion, after abandoning their destroyed Venator, the two landed on a planet of foot-tall aliens being run by a military dictator.
Artoo got feisty with him, and in an attempt to keep him quiet, Threepio gave him a whack on his dome which toppled the little droid onto the dictator, squashing him.
The same day, the droids landed on another planet under the grip of a dictator who tried to keep out any outsiders. It wasn't long before R2 uncovered that the tyrant was actually a group of pit droids in a crashed cruiser who were projecting a giant hologram that kept the local population in line with its threats of destruction. With their façade destroyed, the pit droids were quickly turned on by their former subjects and reduced to scrap.