Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) taking Grogu in The Mandalorian season 2 finale drew the headlines, but R2-D2’s appearance was almost every bit as important and emotional in that scene. Luke’s Star Wars return to train Grogu was The Mandalorian’s biggest event moment so far, the kind that inspired shock across the interest, reaction videos, and the sense of awe and wonder to remind people why they love the franchise in the first place. Fittingly enough, there by his side was his trust astromech droid, R2-D2.
Artoo’s appearance in The Mandalorian was not nearly so dramatic as Luke’s. The droid didn’t have a big unveiling, nor cut through an army of Dark Troopers. But he was pivotal in the scene, not least for his brief (but memorable and cute) interaction with Grogu, the kind of meeting that inspired great fan theories (did R2-D2 save Grogu from Order 66?), but also helped elevate an already great scene even even further.
The return of R2-D2 was a key factor in Luke's appearance happening, as discussed in Disney Gallery: Star Wars: The Mandalorian season 2, episode 2, "Making of Season 2 Finale." There, show creator Jon Favreau talks about how Artoo was always his favorite Star Wars character growing up, and there's a clear excitement in being able to feature him. The documentary also shows just how important it was to have Grogu and R2-D2 interact. As Dave Filoni mentions, there's a "huge responsibility" in putting the character they created next to someone like R2-D2, but it's necessary to show that Grogu is a character who, for The Mandalorian, represents what the original trilogy characters did so long ago; that he can stand with them and is worthy of it. Filoni says:
"Growing up with Star Wars, you never think you're going to be a part of making it. You know for Jon, I think it's so special to have a character like Grogu, who can stand next to R2-D2, in the same frame, and talk to him. You don't even imagine that. And it's a huge responsibility to put that character next to those characters... For a generation of kids, Grogu represents something that Artoo represented to me, that Yoda represented to me. That's a magic, special character, that we take very good care of I hope."
The appearance of R2-D2 was crucial in cementing Grogu as one of Star Wars' great, special characters, imbuing him with even greater meaning and showing how he transcends The Mandalorian to mean so much more to the wider fandom. That sense shines through, and in part it's because of how much it meant to the creators to have these characters appear together, and the passion and care that goes into them is then reflected on screen. Favreau: notes: "It was already intense because it was like 'oh god, here's Mark Hamill dressed as Luke Skywalker on our set, in a starship hallway.' It felt like a dream...and I was fine, and then R2-D2 rolled on and I just had a moment... and that's when I broke down... and I started tearing up and I was just like 'let me remember this moment'... But it just shows you how deep that stuff goes and what it touches from your childhood and how it felt then."
Wherever Luke goes, R2-D2 is there, from the very beginnings in Tatooine, through his Jedi training, when his return was first teased in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and to help him see the error of his ways in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. As Filoni explains in the documentary, Luke in The Mandalorian means Artoo in The Mandalorian. That’s not just a simple matter of fact, but a necessity. Luke’s return to Star Wars is something of a fever dream; a ballistic, balletic sequence of shock, excitement, awe, and wonder that takes you on a journey from “it can’t be, can it?” to “oh my God it is!"
However, this is Luke the Jedi Master at the peak of his powers, and as he arrives to take Grogu away there is a mythic quality to him, a larger than life figure far beyond the farmboy of 1977. R2-D2, then and now, is needed as an audience avatar, his comforting beeps and excitable whistles grounding The Mandalorian’s manic events in some semblance of reality and assuring viewers this is actually happening. Luke’s return could have happened without R2-D2, but whether it would’ve worked is another matter entirely.
