The REAL Reason Uncle Owen Didn’t Recognize Threepio

There's Logic To It

By Culture SlatePublished 3 years ago • Updated 3 years ago • 4 min read

C-3PO, also “Threepio,” along with R2-D2, is one of the most iconic droids and characters in the Star Wars universe. He has been an indelible part of every movie in all of the three Star Wars trilogies. However, with his presence in all three trilogies, some fans have wondered why Uncle Owen did not recognize C-3PO when he purchased him in A New Hope.

Chronologically, C-3PO came into the Star Wars universe in The Phantom Menace when Anakin worked on him as a child on Tatooine. C-3PO was rebuilt by Anakin with the intent for him to assist Anakin’s mother with her chores. As Anakin departed Tatooine, he left C-3PO with his mother, who was later sold to Cliegg Lars. Threepio worked for the Lars family for 10 years until Anakin’s mother Shmi was captured and later killed by Tusken Raiders before Anakin was able to rescue her. Threepio then left the Lars family to accompany Anakin on his adventures. The question remains as to how Owen Lars did not recognize Threepio when he purchased him in the beginning of A New Hope. If Threepio had worked for him for 10 years on his family’s moisture farms, one would think that Owen would remember the droid. However, there are some possible and plausible reasons why Owen would have no recollection of the iconic protocol droid.

First, we do not know the extent of Owen's work on his father’s farm. It is likely that he was a key farmhand since he lived on Tatooine and later inherited the Lars homestead. Still, we do not know the level of interaction we had with Threepio or the other droids on the moisture farm. Threepio could just be one of the many droids working on various part of the homestead.

As we have seen in the Star Wars films, all protocol droids look very similar. We have encountered many protocol droids who resemble Threepio films and there was nothing to really set them apart, especially after all of his memory wipes. Furthermore, his outer casing has been repeatedly changed from his initial bare wire appearance in The Phantom Menace, to his tarnished grey shielding in Attack of the Clones, to his later iconic polished gold plating.

Another reason why Owen may not have recognized Threepio is that Threepio did not introduce himself. A key part of Threepio’s quintessential personality is that he annoyingly and assertively introduces himself to every new person he meets. As some observant fans may have noticed, one of the few times he did not do this was when the Jawas sold him to Owen Lars at the beginning of A New Hope. This may be attributed to Threepio’s confusion, the restraining bolt, or Owen’s interruption. A Star Wars fan would also think that Owen would recognize Threepio’s voice. However, we do not know what other protocol droids sound like or how many other droids were employed on the Lars’ moisture farm.

Twenty years is also a long time between seeing each other for Threepio and Owen Lars. It still remains logical that Owen would not be able to recognize the protocol droid. There are so many protocol droids in the galaxy, even in the backwater planet of Tatooine. While Threepio is iconic to all Star Wars fans, he may not have been that memorable to Owen or the other Star Wars characters where protocol droids are plentiful. In A New Hope, Obi-Wan did not recall ever owning a droid, but he would have been directly familiar with the exploits of C-3PO and R2-D2 in the prequel trilogy. While Threepio will always be a memorable character to fans, Owen had other duties to attend to. He had to take over the moisture farm after his father’s passing and raise a child that was not his and was given to him without any warning.

Who knows? We may find more answers in the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ series where Joel Edgerton will be reprising his role as Owen Lars.

Written By Dave Sacce

Source(s): Screen Rant, Wookieepedia

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