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10 facts about your favorite Droids: R2-D2 & C-3PO
One thing I like about the Star Wars universe is the way the characters come together.
In an iconic galaxy and iconic moments, these two droids are as iconic as possible.
Oh my gosh, this duo is one of the biggest icons of Science fiction - let alone 'Star Wars.'
These two have lived for generations of adventures in this fascinating galaxy, somehow getting caught up in the middle of everything.
Check out 10 facts about this iconic droid duo!
Design inspiration for R2-D2 sparked a lawsuit between Universal & Fox.
George Lucas's early design inspiration for R2-D2 came after the 1972 sci-fi film Silent Running.
In Silent Running, there is a droid trio named Huey, Duey, and Louie, and George Lucas gave them to legendary concept artist Ralph McQuarrie, who designed Artoo to use them as inspiration.
The resemblance between Artoo and the main trilogy of Silent Running has prompted Universal Studios to sue for infringing creative copyright issues.
However, the suit was quickly dropped by Universal when Fox taxed a business.
They pointed out similarities between Universal's Battlestar Galactica and Star Wars.
If you ask me, the gonk droids look more like the Silent Running droids than the Astromech droids.
Obi Wan remembers R2-D2 in A New Hope.
One of the confusing plot points about A New Hope is that old Ben Kenobi claims to have no memory of Artoo and acts as if he doesn't recognize the droid.
However, we are the audience that this is not the case from small money.
And as we all know, the old Obi Wan is all about truth "from a certain point of view".
In the novel Star Wars: A New Hope - The Princess The Scoundrel and The Farmboy, Han looks over the eagle to see Ben waving to Artoo while Luke is practicing with the sword.
The passage reads:
This little moment shared between Artoo and his old friend Obi Wan bonded amazingly during the original Star Wars outing.
The name of R2-D2 is derived from the American Graffiti set.
During the production of George Lucas's 1973 film American Graffiti, he was in his office working on the Star Wars script and fell asleep.
During the report, sound editor Walter Murch called Reel 2, Dialogue Track 2, which stands for “R-2-D-2”.
Lucas woke up at the request and asked Murch to repeat what he just said.
After hearing it again, he said it's a "great name" and went back to work on his script.
Luckily the unlucky little droid we all love is named R2-D2!
R2-D2 is George Lucas's favorite character.
In the commentary for Revenge of the Sith, Lucas reveals that Artoo is his favorite Star Wars character.
He says he always makes sure that he saves the day at least once per movie, as he loves droid so much.
Phantom Menace: R2 fixes the shields on the queen's ship.
Attack of copies: He saves the Padme from being melted in the Droid foundry about Geoonosis.
Revenge of the Sith: R2 operates the lift for Obi Wan & Anakin - and he distracts Grievous so the two Jedi can get their lights back, lest they become a good addition to General's collection
One new hope: R2-D2 was planned by the Death Star for the Uprising and garbage compressor containment.
Empire Strikes Back: R2 fixes the hyperdrive issue on Millennium Falcon.
Jedi Return: R2-D2 smuggles Luke's sword of light into the Sarlacc pit and tosses it to him while he is fighting Jabba's goblins.
So yes, when you think about all the heroic actions Artoo had to do throughout the Lucas-era Star Wars films, it's no surprise Lucas has the biggest weakness for Artoo.
R2-D2 and C-3PO are inspired by comic book duo Laurel and Hardy.
The characters and dynamics of the relationship the two droids share are heavily influenced by comedic duo Laurel and Hardy.
When looking at Artoo is mischievous and optimistic, beside the rebellious and clumsy British Threepio, similarities are quite easy to draw between Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.
Anyone who knows a little about Star Wars will know that George Lucas is inspired by Japanese films.
So it's no surprise they were also influenced by the characters Tahei and Matashichi - two farmers in Akira Kurosawa's 1958 movie Hidden Fortress.
Here, Lucas influenced the narrative of the Fortress hidden from the perspective of the lowest figures in the movie and aims to bring this perspective into Star Wars through the eyes of R2-D2 and C-3PO.
Both R2-D2 & C-3PO have appeared in many films outside of the Star Wars franchise.
As expected from two of Sci-Fi's most recognizable symbols, Artoo and Thraepio have done a lot (not Canon) over the years
Artoo appeared in both the 2009 Star Trek reboot and the 2013 Star Trek Into Darkness sequel, where he was briefly seen flying in some space debris.
In the classic sci-fi movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Artoo can be seen on the underside of the alien ship, and he also made a few cameos in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and
The duo appear in Raiders of the Lost Ark, where they are seen on the wall of the room containing the Ark in hieroglyphs.
The two also had a small cameo role in the Wreck-It Ralph sequel, Ralph Breaks the Internet.
The duo even appeared on an episode of Sesame Street together!
Artoo was originally supposed to be a protagonist in The Lego Movie, but sadly its creators couldn't get the right to use him.
C-3PO is truly fluent in over seven million communication modes!
"I'm C-3PO, human-robot relationships, and I'm fluent in more than six million forms of communication!"
Now, that's a line any Star Wars fan has ever heard… well, maybe six million times!
I suspect that a Star Wars movie passed without Threepio saying that.
Heck, aside from telling everyone (especially Han Solo) about the odds, I'd say it's the closest catch he has!
However, in the gap between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, Threepio's TranLang III's communication module has been upgraded.
As a result, he is currently able to communicate using more than seven million forms of communication.
When do you think we'll hear him brag about that next?
Anthony Daniels didn't want to play C-3PO at first.
When the two first met in 1975 and George Lucas offered to play the C-3PO character, Daniels didn't want to do it.
However, he changed his mind when he saw Ralph McQuarrie's concept picture for the character, saying that he thinks the robot is beautiful.
Daniels reappeared his role in The Force Awakens when J.J.
At first, Abrams just asked Daniels if he wanted to voice it, given his age, but Daniels is happy to get his outfit back on again.
The entire C-3PO outfit is rebuilt from the bottom up to Daniels easier to get in and out, without any changes to be visible on the screen.
Daniels also voiced C-3PO in the animated series Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003), Droids, The Clone Wars and Rebels.
Vader remembers the C-3PO from Empire Strikes Back.
Just like Artoo and Obi Wan from A New Hope, Vader and Threepio don't recognize each other on screen in Empire Strikes Back.
Of course, Threepio's memory was wiped out at the end of Revenge of the Sith, so of course he wouldn't remember or know who Darth Vader was.
However, this is not the case with Vader.
In short stories thank the manufacturer from wars between comic stars: Problem 6, a royal officer brought to Vader the remnants of Threepio.
He hands over Vader Threepio's head and as Lord Sith stands looking through it, the comic goes back in time and we see the young Anakin on Tatooine, finding Threepio's head in Watto's junkyard.
As the series continues, he finds the remains of Threepio and takes him home, begging his mother to hold him and fix him so he can help around the house.
Young Anakin identified with C-3PO, a broken and frustrated property part.
His mother is pleased and says he can keep the droid, saying:
The comic cuts to the present point, and Vader is staring at his old childhood friend's deactivated optical sensor.
He lifted the droid's head to his face and leaned in, touching his helmet at it in a gentle moment that shocked both the dark lord and protocol droid.
The Royal officers asked Vader if he wanted to destroy the droid, and he told them to return it to "Wookie's cell".
He replied "I'm giving Wookie what he deserves."
The lines, coming from Vader, show that he still cares about Threepio and that he wants him to be with Chewie, whom he knows will take care of him.
C-3PO's red arm is a tribute to a droid friend who sacrificed himself.
When Threpeepio appeared for the first time in the next period, go to Leia's reunion and Han during the Force Awakens, he delivered one of his best lines.
In addition to the outstanding and hilarious meme abilities, this Threepio red-arm skit is really deep, emotional, and emotional at the same time.
In the comics Star Wars Special: C-3PO 1: The Phantom Limb, set not long before The Force Awakens, the C-3PO is part of a mission to rescue Admiral Ackbar from First Order confinement.
After grasping a Droid protocol called Omri, the position of Admiral was imprisoned, the ship they crashed, killed everyone on the train - except 3po, Omri and four other droids.
The surviving droids find their way to a generator to call for help, but one by one they are perished at the hands of the terrain and wildlife on the planet.
Along the way, Omri questioned the philosophical ethics of using droids, likening them to slaves and remarking how trivial life is when one's memory can be wiped out to the liking of the master
Omri goes on to say that sometimes he sees events in the past that he hasn't experienced yet.
This led him to believe that he had erased memories several times and wondered how important his past life might be.
In the hauntingly beautiful monologue Tears in Rain-esque, C-3PO admits that he also has memories of his past life, saying:
Not long after, Threepio lost his arm to several creatures, leaving only Threepio and Omri.
The two hid but quickly realized that the transmitter would be corroded by the acid rain, so they had to act quickly if they wanted to send the signal out.
Omri tells C-3PO that there is nothing in his directive to stop Threepio from completing his mission and pass Ackbar's location to him.
He told Threepio that he was not switching sides, but rather he was choosing friendship.
In an act of selfless sacrifice, Omri steps into acid rain to send a signal before the generator is destroyed.
Omri can send the signal to Poe Dameron, ensuring the survival of C-3PO, but such an abortion.
Beautiful!
So those are my 10 favorite cosmic and outer space facts about one of Science Fiction's most iconic duos.
I hope you all enjoyed these facts and stories about everyone's favorite droids - from a galaxy far, far away ...
