‘Star Wars’ legend in new episode of ‘The Mandalorian’: Luke Skywalker would never have become a hero without him

In the second episode of The Mandalorian’s third season, the title character and his companion Grogu return to Tatooine. At Peli Motto (Amy Sedaris) they actually want to buy spare parts for IG-11. But in the end they move on with another droid – and he’s a true Star Wars legend who even had his own wacky comic book and without whom nothing in the saga would have happened.

Than this droid is R5-D4, who was featured in the very first “Star Wars” movie”Episode IV – A New Hopehad an appearance and still stuck on Tatooine. And in “Episode IV” he started the whole plot of the “Star Wars” series.

R5-D4: The Unsung Hero of “Star Wars”

In “Episode IV – A New Hope” we see R5 when Owen Lars (Phil Brown) and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) want to buy new droids. You are originally purchasing C-3PO and R5. But just after the purchase, damage occurs to the R5 unit, which is why Luke immediately complains and then exchanges it for R2-D2. This is the only way for Luke to get hold of R2-D2 and later find the hidden message from Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) there, which activates all further events.

But all this is even more interesting if you knows the complex story of R5-D4 that took place outside the movies.

The original comic: R5 is a Jedi

In 1999, long before Disney took over Star Wars, the mini-comic Skippy the Jedi Droid was released. It turns out that R5 is actually called Skippy and, as the title suggests, wields the Force. For example, he can make things levitate.

He also realizes that young Luke is also very Force sensitive. He therefore influences the mind of Owen Lars so that he buys him. But the moment he is acquired, he sees the future thanks to his abilities: he realizes that Darth Vader will find and destroy R2-D2 a short time later. Leia is then killed and the entire rebellion falls apart. With the new knowledge of what important mission R2-D2 is on, he causes a small explosion within himself, which damages him and exchanges him for R2-D2.

In this version of the story, R5-D4 dies a short time later. When stormtroopers stir up the Jawas in search of R2-D2, he too fires a blaster. But these events are no longer canon. After Disney took over Lucasfilm, all stories told outside of the movies and series were sorted out – also because they contradicted each other too often (there was also another story where R5 no longer has any Force skills and teams up with a Rebel spy).

But as “Star Wars” fans know, Disney brings back individual raisins from the old stories to retell them in a consistent canon – including elements of the R5 victim story…

Now Canon: Another selfless sacrifice from R5

From a Certain Point of View, a collection of short stories released in 2017, is a collection of short stories told from the point of view of another supporting character from Star Wars IV: A New Hope, including the new canon story for R5-D4 .

Related to this, we get a more detailed version of the scene in the movie where R2-D2 and C-3PO are in Jawa’s captivity with numerous other droids like R5-D4. In doing so, R5 wakes up in the night as R2-D2 tries to damage him only to be sold in the morning as the only working astromech unit. The apologetic R2 reveals what’s behind the attempted sabotage, revealing the important mission he’s on and that the future of the galaxy depends on his sale.

Since the mention of the rebellion triggers something in R5, whose memories are actually completely erased, he later sacrifices himself in a manner similar to the earlier comic. He causes an overheating, which leads to the malfunction. So it comes to Luke’s famous purchase of R2-D2. Later, when the stormtroopers attack the Jawas in search of Leia’s escaped droid, he plays dead and survives in this new version of the story.

“The Mandalorian” already showed us in the 1st & 2nd season R5

We now know that he was stranded on Tatooine, where he had been stranded for quite some time before that. Because in “Episode II – Attack of the Clones” by George Lucas, he is already several decades earlier on the desert planet. By the way, we already found out that he is still on Tatooine in the fifth episode of the first season of “The Mandalorian”. There, Din Djarin runs past him at Chalmun’s Cantina in the center of Mos Eisley. In the second season we see him owned by Peli Motto for the first time.

In the series “The Book of Boba Fett” there is almost a reunion with R2-D2, who, along with Grogu, goes to Peli Motto in search of Din Djarin. However, the two droids do not exchange a beep. It is (still) unclear whether R5 realizes that the R2 unit he once helped ended up in Motto’s hangar.

What is certain, however, is that the little R5 unit is a true ‘Star Wars’ legend. And without her selfless sacrifice, Luke Skywalker would never have understood Leia’s message, never become a hero, and the Rebellion might never have triumphed. Let’s see what adventures await him next to Din Djarin.

The next episode of “The Mandaloriancoming to Disney+ on March 15, 2023.