How were R2D2 and C3PO made in the original trilogy?

How were R2D2 and C3PO made in the original trilogy? - Creative artwork with Frida Kahlo painting decorated with colorful floral headband on graffiti wall

I know they used a lot of mechanics back then, but were R2D2 and C3PO mechanical, a costume, or something else?



Best Answer

For c-3po, it was a costume, Anthony Daniels played c-3po:

Anthony Daniels as c3po

For R2-D2, It was a costume and a remote controlled robot. CGI was also used in the prequel trilogy. So, they had Kenny Baker to play him : Kenny Baker inside R2-D2

And from Portrayal section of wookieepedia article on R2-D2 :

Baker performed the role of R2-D2 inside a standing unit of the droid, wearing a specially-made suit and manipulating the droid's lights and appendages, turning his head, rocking his body back and forth, and moving his eye with a rod. In addition to Baker's unit, every Star Wars film has made use of a number of remote control units, as Baker's was largely immobile.
[...]
A computer-generated R2-D2 was also used in many scenes of the prequel trilogy, including a scene in Episode II where the character walks up a staircase. Baker has stated that he would never have been able to do that in his costume.




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How did they make the original R2-D2?

The two physical configurations were the two-legged droids operated by actor Kenny Baker, and the three-legged motorized remote-control droids for the rolling-around scenes. This early scene from Star Wars shows both modes. Two separate props were used \u2013 they just cut between the scenes and swapped the robots out.

How did Luke get r2d2 and c3po?

R2-D2 in the Original Trilogy and Beyond The droids escaped to the planet's surface, where they were captured by Jawas and sold to the moisture farmer Owen Lars and his nephew Luke Skywalker.

Who built r2d2 and c3po?

At the Skywalker home, R2-D2 met C-3PO, a protocol droid that Anakin had built. The two bonded as they worked on Anakin's personal podracer.

How was C-3PO made?

C-3PO was rebuilt from spare parts by Anakin Skywalker, a human slave who lived in Mos Espa, a city on the Outer Rim world of Tatooine. During the Clone Wars, he would serve the Naboo Senator Padm\xe9 Amidala. Shortly after the Clone Wars, C-3PO's memory was erased, though R2-D2's memory was not.



The Entire C-3PO And R2-D2 Story Finally Explained




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