For every Luke Skywalker, Jyn Erso, and Rey fighting against the Empire or First Order, there’s a droid out there standing right by their side. In many ways, the robots of Star Wars are the true unsung heroes of the franchise. After all, it was R2-D2 and C-3PO who delivered Leia’s stolen Death Star plans to the Rebel Alliance. It was the reprogrammed Imperial droid K-2SO who sacrificed himself helping a squad of rebels infiltrate Scarif. And it was BB-8 who carried a secret memory drive containing Luke Skywalker’s location to the Resistance.
While C-3PO and K-2SO are able to walk and talk (thanks to their humanoid appearance), other droids like R2-D2 and BB-8 simply roll around and communicate via beeps and clicks. Even so, the writers and actors have managed to imbue a sense of humanity into these smaller, less fragile droids. They’ve seen a lot on their travels throughout the galaxy on missions for the greater good, but imagine if they could for once tell their story and not rely on a human or droid translator. Well, we don’t have to wonder anymore.
A new video above, from the YouTube channel Auralnauts, has dedicated itself to giving R2-D2 a real human voice. They’ve taken all of Artoo’s scenes from A New Hope and replaced his former robot language for one that’s sarcastic and British. For the first time, the droid seems to have his own earnest personality, and he’s not just a robot on a mission. He’s committed to the cause and knows what he needs to do to achieve his goal, while taking C-3PO along for the ride.
It’s so amusing how Auralnauts was able to make all of Artoo’s new dialogue fit in so well with what we already know C-3PO says in the movie. They even filled previously silent moments, where you wouldn’t even know he was speaking, with little quips and one-liners. As it turns out, Artoo has a delightful sense of humor, and he’s actually smarter than most of the characters around him.
The video also includes inside jokes and references to the prequel trilogy that, of course, hadn’t been written yet. In A New Hope, Obi-Wan Kenobi doesn’t seem to remember ever meeting Artoo before, but in the prequel trilogy we see he’s worked alongside the droid many times. R2-D2’s response and list of why Obi-Wan should remember him is hilarious. There’s a lot of moments here that Star Wars fans should love.
Next: Star Wars 8 May Begin Reshoots in Scotland & Ireland in March
Source: Auralnauts (via Nerdist)
- Han Solo Release Date: 2018-05-25 Star Wars 8 Release Date: 2017-12-15 Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker Release Date: 2019-12-20