Star Wars is a franchise of science fantasy, with space wizards and galactic travel and aliens of all varieties. For denizens of the galaxy far, far away, their technology is far more advanced, specifically in the artificial intelligence field. Planet Earth has not even scratched the surface of what A.I. can do, but in Star Wars they have fully formed androids capable of a whole slew of activities, from beverage service to combat surgery. Their purpose is to serve their masters. They have no rights of their own, cannot own property, or choose the longevity of their own lives. Essentially, they are like appliances, or tools, or complicated products, in the Star Wars universe. So why do they have personalities?
Disney Investor Day announced an upcoming animated show for Disney+ titled Star Wars: A Droid Story. It will feature R2-D2 and C-3PO as well as a new droid hero. The trio are expected to fall into all sorts of mischief amidst an unrevealed secret mission. Where in the timeline this show will take place is also unknown, though speculation has them interacting with Grogu and Luke Skywalker in the New Republic Era. Will it offer a new perspective on the question of droids?
Droids of All Shapes and Sizes
Droids in the Star Wars galaxy come in all shapes and sizes. There are five classes to categorize their purpose and shape. The first class are droids made for mathematics, physical, and medical sciences. The midwife droids from Revenge of the Sith are part of this category.
Second class droids are skilled with technical science and engineering, like astromechs (a.k.a R2-D2). Third class are proficient with the social sciences and services, such as protocol droids (C-3PO). The fourth class are the military and security forces. The entire Trade Federation army was fourth class, as are the bounty hunter droids IG-88 and IG-11. The fifth and final class are droids more like machines, primarily used for manual labor. The little black mouse droid that zips about the Death Star in A New Hope is a fifth class droid.
The Droids You are Looking For
Star Wars has introduced audiences to a great many of droid characters. Each has a memorable and affable personality, in their own way. The most popular are C-3PO and R2-D2, who, like Palpatine, have nearly been in every single Star Wars movie.
C-3PO’s personality is that of a British butler. He is polite and fastidious. This is opposed to his counterpart, R2-D2 who is a rambunctious scamp. BB-8 is like a puppy, whereas Chopper (from Star Wars: Rebels) is a grumbly old-man. D-O (the little green guy from Rise of Skywalker) is excitable and has a stutter. L3-37 from Solo: A Star Wars Story is an emancipated politically vocal feminist, as well as a romantic partner to Lando Calrissian. IG-11 started out as a ruthless killer-bot but turned into Grogu’s nanny and protector. Finally, K-2SO was a cynical Eeyore type of character who held nothing back.
Expanded Universe Culprit
According to the Expanded Universe, which is no longer legal canon, but it is still a fun story nonetheless, a human male named Yperio Baobab was the first to write the code for a droid language that evolved over centuries to be current droidspeak (also known as binary). The language he developed was sophisticated enough to allow for the transmission of memories and sensory data between droids. It was called Bab-Prime. Another programmer attempted to enhance the Bab-Prime language but created a rampant computer virus instead. This virus caused droids to have personality and emotions. The only way to correct the virus, and to correct the emergent identities, is to wipe the memory of the droids. Apparently, this was a regular practice, as the virus continuously relapsed, but it must have fallen out of use by the Prequel Trilogy Era. Both C-3PO and R2-D2 are overloaded with quips and qualms.
If their personalities were by mistake, that is one thing, but who would willingly give a droid the ability to think and speak freely? They are still required to obey their programming, of course, but C-3PO, L3-37 and K-2SO have all shown that droids are more than able to speak against their organic masters, act against the wishes of their masters, and even challenge other master’s decisions and beliefs. Furthermore, giving a droid a personality is equivalent to giving one to a toaster, or microwave. Why would anyone in the Star Wars galaxy want to have a conversation with their small appliances? It is highly irregular.
Star Wars: A Droid Story is going to be an animated series for Disney+. It is likely a children’s show, however, so it remains to be seen if it will push the needle for newStar Wars content or quality in the same way The Mandalorian has on Disney+.