'Star Wars: A Droid Story' Announced

Star Wars itself began with the perspective of two droids. The idea of having two characters of little significance showcase their take on an adventure of much more importance than them appealed to George Lucas ever since he saw it Akira Kurosawa's Hidden Fortress, which was a huge influence on Star Wars. On December 10th, the Disney Investor Day call was broadcast to let viewers feel that pull of curiosity for a grander adventure again. Star Wars fans had a lot to look forward to, as among the ten announcements, a new Disney+ addition to the Star Wars canon was announced. Star Wars: A Droid Story will be a special released on the platform, boasting familiar faces and a special collaboration between Lucasfilm Animation and another company that was bought by Disney with the purchase of Star Wars.

The two most iconic droids of the series will be a mainstay of the special; R2-D2 and C-3PO are due to appear in Star Wars: A Droid Story along with a brand new character. The treatment of droids has come a long way. From a behind the scenes perspective, fans who saw the original 1977 run of the film may remember that actors/puppeteers Anthony Daniels and Kenny Baker were not credited for their parts as the iconic golden droid and trashcan robot respectively, instead having the roles credited as "Himself" for each to maintain the illusion that ILM's special effects were more advanced than they actually were. Onscreen, things have changed, too, with the idea of droid sentience having been explored in a number of Star Wars media, from the rebellious L3-37 in Solo to the sardonic side-changing K-2SO in Rogue One.

Droids have occupied an odd place in Star Wars, ranging from regular workbots to existential thinkers. This also is not the first time in Star Wars that droids have been the main characters; back in 1985, the duo of Artoo and Threepio starred in the 1985 animated series Star Wars: Droids, following their adventures during the time that they were lost from the rebellion and decided to have a few adventures with a new crew. Star Wars: Droids lasted for one season and a TV movie, but it was not the only time that droids soaked up the spotlight; there have been several episodes of the 2008 animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars and the 2014 animated series Star Wars: Rebels, all of which follow the perspective of the droids, but none of them are very memorable apart from the one where they reenact the rope dancing scene in Gulliver's Travels. (It is very weird.)

One thing is for certain: there is a wealth of opportunity to show the duo working together with their mysterious new droid friend. Between the pair of them, Artoo and Threepio have decades of content to work with, only excluding the time before Threepio met Artoo and the time that Artoo was shut down during the sequel trilogy. Okay, actually, two things are for certain; the second is that Anthony Daniels is reprising his role as the voice of C-3PO. Technically, that has not been officially announced, but the man has been giving goldenrod his voice consistently for the past 43 years, including his most recent work on Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy's Edge.

Lucasfilm's animation department will be collaborating with ILM on the new special. No director or crew have been announced. While no formal release date has been announced, Star Wars: A Droid Story is expected to be released during or before 2023.

Written By Trey Atwood

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