The origins of R2D2

Aww... I thought this was going to be all about a new standalone film

 

I want this to happen soooo bad! I would definitely go and see it.

 

R2 was a Ralph McQuarrie design from my recollection. Based off of an existing robot design from a different movie that was rectangular, so RM made him round. No vacuum inspiration that I've ever heard of. But who knows.

 

Anakin built him whilst in the womb

 

I think everything we need to know about R2 D2 is told in this official Lucasfilm film:

 

The design was based on a garbage can not a vacuum cleaner...

 

i feel all dirty inside that i laughed at this :O

 

I think that's how Garbage Pail Kids were intended to make you feel.

 

Yeah, but the problem is nobody laughs at Garbage Pail Kids

 

Maybe not now Debbie Downer but back in the day kids thought they were hilarious. They didn't sell all those trading cards because Potty Scotty had a great batting average.

 

If they were to make to make a movie based off of the origin of R2D2, they would need to have a scene where the droid got his name. One that was very similar to how Han got his name in Solo: A Star Wars Story. Where 2 Naboo people (human or gungan) have finally finished the droid and go "And he's a-finished!" and then the other person goes "But what should we call him?" And right before they figure out his name we cut to the next scene.

 

I thought it was already canon that he was named after his great-grandfather Artoo Thaddeus Detoo.

 

Oh my God you're totally right! Man how do I forget about these things that are just so completely obvious! Artoo Thaddeus Detoo is the main character of the prequel trilogy and was a pivotal figure during the Clone Wars!

 

Rexair did make a Rainbow model called D2 in the mid-70s, and it does kinda have a dome with a circular "eye" on it and two "shoulders"...



But I think the company are maybe being a bit tongue-in-cheek and trying to cash in on what are purely coincidental similarities.
You can see the evolution of Ralph McQuarrie's designs from the original tube-on-a-ball idea right through to the final design used in the movies. I mean, the D2 cleaner may have provided some visual inspiration for McQuarrie somewhere along the line and we just don't know about it - but it has all been fairly well documented, and this has never been mentioned if it did.
And as someone pointed out above, the name came from a request for "Reel 2, Dialogue 2" made by Walter Murch while working on American Graffiti.

 

So I heard an At-Xt had a drunk weekend at a frat party one weekend, one thing lead to another and it was hooking with a cleaning droid. a couples months late we had twins R1-D1 and R2-D2. R1 one is never really talked about in the movie because early in life he got addicted to 90w oil. R2 moved on to the great we no has done but R1 never got his act together. He spent a lot of time on Hoth doing odd jobs here and there. R2 got him into rehab a couple of times but he could never kick the habit. His last know where abouts were on a garbage freighter on the outer rim.

 

@Maximus has been helping droids battle addiction for a long time. The work he is doing on Endor speak for it self.