Image: Disney/Wikimedia Commons. Jamie Dunkin Remix
The most lovable and prolific droid in the Star Wars Galaxy may be the most powerful and evil being in existence, a new fan theory believes.
R2-D2, a humble astromech droid who has helped the likes of Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ahsoka Tano, Luke Skywalker, Rey Skywalker, and Lando Calrissian may not be the heroic helper we’ve seen him be for years. according to a theory spreading across Reddit.
What if, instead of a great sidekick, he’s actually the evil genius who worked alongside Darth Sidious to create a fascist galactic government? Yeah, he sounds crazy, but this theory posited by Redditor /u/wentzitcame thinks it makes a lot of sense and has started the discussion.
The core part of this theory revolves around R2-D2’s earliest known adventures occurring almost at the exact point the galaxy began learning about this fellow Sheev Palpatine. In fact, all of R2-D2’s adventures occurred during Palpatine’s lifetime(s), and seemed to have coincided with the dark lord of the Sith amassing power.
However, the idea is mostly ridiculous, as R2-D2 has been shown to be of great help to heroes across the galaxy. It’s hard to believe that R2 would simply allow, say, letting Luke blow up the Death Star in 1977. A new hope. Or the rebels doing it back on return of the jedi. Or bring the Resistance back to Luke Skywalker, allowing Rey to properly train herself to defeat Palpatine.
But it’s always fun to rethink the motivations of our heroes, especially the ones who are mostly mute. R2-D2 is one of the most commercial characters of Star Wars, and pretty much anything that can have an R2 theme will have an R2 theme. For him, ending up as a secret villain would be hilarious.
The totality Star Wars The saga is available to stream on Disney Plus.
