Overview
{{Infobox character
| name = R2-D2
| image = R2-D2 Droid.png
| series = Star Wars
| first = Star Wars (1977)
| last =
| creator = George Lucas
| class = Astromech droid
| nickname = Artoo (R2)
| species =
| lbl21 = Homeworld
| data21 = Naboo
| affiliation =
| portrayer = {{Plainlist|
Kenny Baker (Episodes I–VI; The Force Awakens, consultant)
Deep Roy (Episodes V–VI, double)
Jimmy Vee (The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi)
Hassan Taj, Lee Towersey (The Rise of Skywalker)
Christine Galey (The Book of Boba Fett)
}}
| voice = Ben Burtt
}}
R2-D2 or Artoo-Detoo 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. 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).
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. 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.
R2-D2 was designed in artwork by Ralph McQuarrie, co-developed by John Stears and built by Peteric Engineering. The revised Empire Strikes Back droids had fibreglass shells built by Tony Dyson and his White Horse Toy Company.
Design
George Lucas's creation of R2-D2 was influenced by the peasant Matashichi from Akira Kurosawa's 1958 feature film The Hidden Fortress (released in the United States in 1962), although his personality is completely the opposite. Lucas and artist Ralph McQuarrie also drew inspiration from the robots Huey, Dewey, and Louie from Douglas Trumbull's 1972 film Silent Running.
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
