Star Wars: R2-D2 Was At Leia’s Birth AND Death – What That Means

Here’s why R2-D2’s presence at Leia’s death in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is so significant. Although they might seem a pair of humble droids, the importance of both R2-D2 and C-3PO in the Star Wars franchise is lost upon no one. In 1977, the galactic story begins with the droids being ejected onto Tatooine and both are present throughout the original, prequel and sequel trilogies. They may not be protagonists in the usual sense, but it could certainly be argued that the Skywalker saga is told through the lens of these two droids. Consequently, The Rise of Skywalker doesn’t just represent the end of the titular troublesome family, but also the final chapter in the story of a beeping blue and white bucket and his anxious golden friend.

As a final chapter, however, The Rise of Skywalker places far more focus on C-3PO. The protocol droid follows Rey’s group during their adventures and is instrumental in translating the Sith dagger to uncover the path the Exegol. In order to achieve this, C-3PO sacrifices his considerable memory banks in one of the film’s big emotional beats. On the other hand, Artoo is largely sidelined at Rebel base camp, beeping away happily in the background and then pulling out a convenient Threepio backup file. However, R2-D2 does have one subtle but significant moment in The Rise of Skywalker – being present at the death of Princess Leia. This is so vital because Artoo was also on the scene when Leia was born in Revenge of the Sith.

Artoo’s inclusion is already touching simply due to his shared history with Leia, but watching her final moments also cements the astromech droid as the silent guardian figure watching over Leia for her entire life. The R2-D2 story begins in The Phantom Menace as a regular droid from Naboo who defies the odds to save Padme Amidala, Leia’s mother. Artoo diligently served both the Jedi and Padme and was one of the few who witnessed her secret marriage to Anakin Skywalker. After later observing the birth of the couple’s twin children, Luke and Leia, Threepio’s memories are scrubbed but R2-D2’s aren’t, so when the droids are enlisted in service to Alderaan, Artoo is fully aware of the stakes, both in terms of the galaxy’s fate and his own history with the Amidala and Skywalker families.

Of course, this all leads to the iconic moment of Leia entrusting Artoo with her famous Obi-Wan message, kicking off the original trilogy. The droid then brings the other Skywalker child into the story and helps rescue Leia from the Death Star, before watching Luke train to become a Jedi in The Empire Strikes Back. Both R2-D2 and C-3PO are present during many landmark events in the lives of the Skywalkers, but only Artoo understands the actual significance of them. Whereas C-3PO is in a perennial state of worry and confusion, R2-D2 knows all, whether he’s hiding Luke’s green lightsaber in Jabba’s palace or tracking down Obi-Wan Kenobi on Tatooine.

In many ways, Artoos is Luke’s droid more than Leia’s but this is only because of how the Star Wars films frame their story. Due to his time with Leia on Alderaan and Luke’s exile on Ahch-To, Artoo is attached to both Skywalker siblings. Therefore, watching Leia die must’ve broken the droid’s small, metal heart. Not only has he lost a friend, but Padme, Anakin, Luke, Obi-Wan and now Leia are all gone; all of the figures Artoo has looked over or helped from the beginning of his story. R2-D2’s era, from the coming together of Leia’s parents to her eventual death, is now over.

Strangely, The Rise of Skywalker doesn’t deal with this aspect. Artoo is present when Leia dies just because he’s the only character from the original trilogy present at the time. As a whole, the Star Wars sequels don’t make full use of R2-D2 – the astromech is asleep for The Force Awakens and largely replaced by BB-8 elsewhere. Between the lines, however, R2-D2 has arguably the best trilogy-spanning story of any Star Wars character, and if he could actually talk, he’d surely be the franchise’s best protagonist. Artoo is so often overlooked by enemies because of his size, it’s somewhat ironic that in Leia’s death scene, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker overlooks the symbolic end of R2-D2’s place in the overall story. And unlike Luke or Rey, who both had a genetic head-start, R2-D2 really was just a regular nobody who rose to save the galaxy.

About The Author

Craig Elvy
(3630 Articles Published)

Craig first began contributing to Screen Rant in 2016, several years after graduating college, and has been ranting ever since, mostly to himself in a darkened room. Having previously written for various sports and music outlets, Craig’s interest soon turned to TV and film, where a steady upbringing of science fiction and comic books finally came into its own.
Craig has previously been published on sites such as Den of Geek, and after many coffee-drenched hours hunched over a laptop, part-time evening work eventually turned into a full-time career covering everything from the zombie apocalypse to the Starship Enterprise via the TARDIS.

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Since joining the Screen Rant fold, Craig has been involved in breaking news stories and mildly controversial ranking lists, but now works predominantly as a features writer.
Jim Carrey is Craig’s top acting pick and favorite topics include superheroes, anime and the unrecognized genius of the High School Musical trilogy.

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