Although Kenny Baker is credited, Anthony Daniels (who portrays C-3PO) has stated that Baker did not film any scenes in Revenge of the Sith. [34] Baker himself has said he probably only appears in footage caught while shooting the previous two movies. [35] Markoff, John (November 29, 2013). "A Night Watchman With Wheels?". The New York Times. New York City. Archived from the original on January 4, 2022 . Retrieved December 11, 2013. Ewan McGregor, who portrayed Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, said in an interview, "As soon as R2-D2 comes on the set, everyone goes a bit silly." He said "there is something about him that makes you feel great affection for him". In the DVD audio commentary for Revenge of the Sith, George Lucas says R2-D2 is his favorite character, and that it is intentional that R2-D2 saves the day at least once in every film. Towersey was also one of the two puppeteers, along with Hassan Taj, who operated the droid in The Rise of Skywalker. Wallace, Daniel. (2002). Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Characters. Del Rey. p.138. ISBN 0-345-44900-2. Note: Canon sources are mixed as to whether R2-D2 has a gender, but Wallace (an official source) indicates that the droid has masculine programming.

R2-D2 ( / ˌ ɑːr . t uː ˈ d iː t uː/) or Artoo-Detoo [1] is a fictional robot character in the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. He has appeared in ten of the eleven theatrical Star Wars films to date, including every movie in the original trilogy, prequel trilogy, and sequel trilogy. [a] At various points throughout the course of the films, R2, an astromech droid, is a friend to C-3PO, Padmé Amidala, Anakin Skywalker, Leia Organa, Luke Skywalker, and Obi-Wan Kenobi. R2-D2 and his companion C-3PO are the only characters to appear in every theatrical Star Wars film, with the exception of Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018).

Cast & Crew Highlight at Star Wars Celebration Panel Anaheim. YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-11-08. McNary, Dave (February 14, 2017). " 'Star Wars': R2-D2 Role to Be Filled by Jimmy Vee in 'The Last Jedi' ". Variety. Archived from the original on July 2, 2018 . Retrieved December 12, 2017.

Meet Grant Imahara from MythBusters". mouser.com. Archived from the original on July 2, 2017 . Retrieved March 30, 2016. German Professor Who Is A Hardcore Star Wars Fan Has Just Repainted An Observatory Into R2-D2". Bored Panda. 25 March 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-11-22 . Retrieved 2019-11-16. Direct from a galaxy far, far away comes thisnew pre-built versionof the R2-D2 interactive droidfrom Droid Depot at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. The legendary Star Wars character features authentic lights, sounds, and integrated Bluetooth technology so it will always be at your command.Jolyon Bambridge, BFI Filmography". Archived from the original on April 18, 2016 . Retrieved March 30, 2016. Child, Ben (19 November 2014). "The missing piece: Star Wars' R2-D2 originally a key character in The Lego Movie". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 28 February 2018 . Retrieved 2 April 2018. Barber, Marianne (February 16, 2022). "Most Popular Movie Robot in Every U.S. State". mroelectric.com. Archived from the original on February 7, 2023 . Retrieved April 4, 2022.

Radio-controlled units were extensively utilized for the Prequel trilogy due to advances in technology, though Baker was still used in some scenes. R2-D2 had three principal operators: Don Bies, [27] [28] Jolyon Bambridge [29] [30] and Grant Imahara. [31] [32] English actor Kenny Baker played R2-D2 in all three original Star Wars films and received billing credit for the character in the prequel trilogy, where Baker's role was reduced as R2-D2 was portrayed mainly by radio controlled props and CGI models. In the sequel trilogy, Baker was credited as consultant for The Force Awakens; however, Jimmy Vee also co-performed the character in some scenes. Vee later took over the role beginning in The Last Jedi. [2] In The Rise of Skywalker, puppeteers Hassan Taj and Lee Towersey perform the role of R2-D2, replacing Jimmy Vee, who had played the role in the previous two films. His sounds and vocal effects were created by sound designer Ben Burtt.Orange conditional tiles add to the complexity, letting you build loops of behaviors and program R2-D2 to only perform a command if it receives an input. The droid can respond to clapping, speech, and music, and a sensor on the front will detect if a hand waves in front of it or if there's an obstacle in the way. A knob on its dome can also be pushed like a button or twisted to trigger commands. It's a very simple programming language, but it can introduce kids to basic concepts like loops and conditionals. Fun With Droids Szostak, Phil (2015). The Art of 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' . Abrams Books. p.252. ISBN 978-1-4197-1780-2.

Disney and Random House announce relaunch of Star Wars Adult Fiction line". StarWars.com. April 25, 2014. Archived from the original on May 14, 2016 . Retrieved May 26, 2016. R2-D2 and C-3PO guest starred in a two episodes of Sesame Street in 1980. [41] The two droids were featured as presenters at the 50th Academy Awards. R2-D2 also appears in Star Wars Rebels in the episodes "Droids in Distress" and "Blood Sisters", and in several episodes of Star Wars Forces of Destiny. a b "Deep Roy Biography". Archived from the original on October 15, 2016 . Retrieved March 30, 2016.See also: Cultural impact of Star Wars In 2015 All Nippon Airways unveiled a Boeing 787-9 in a special R2-D2 livery, which is colloquially referred to as R2D2JET; this aircraft is seen here at Tokyo International Airport (March 2016). The navigation system of the SR-71 plane has been affectionately called R2-D2. [43] The system had R2-D2 like navigational purposes and was mounted behind the pilot directed upward. In the Latin American Spanish dubbing of the Star Wars films, the name R2-D2 is pronounced as "Arturito" (Little Arthur), which sounds similar to the English pronunciation. [45] El verdadero nombre de R2-D2". wordpress.com. February 8, 2012. Archived from the original on July 9, 2017 . Retrieved December 22, 2016. In Star Wars, R2-D2 and C-3PO ( Anthony Daniels) are both introduced on board the Tantive IV, along with Princess Leia ( Carrie Fisher) of Alderaan, when they are being pursued upon by Darth Vader (portrayed by David Prowse, voiced by James Earl Jones) aboard an Imperial Star Destroyer. Leia inserts into R2-D2 an information disc containing the plans for the Death Star battle station, and encodes a distress message on the droid's holographic projector. The droids then escape in a pod that crashes on Tatooine near Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi's ( Alec Guinness) desert abode.