He's one of the most popular and iconic of Star Wars characters and he never says one word of dialogue -- well, none that the viewer can understand. I could easily be talking about Chewbacca, but R2-D2 gets the spotlight today. The little droid only ever communicates with a series of beep-boops, yet somehow no one has any trouble following what he's saying, leaving only the viewer in the dark. Someone decided to change all that and gave a voice to R2 for all his scenes in Star Wars: A New Hope. It's a real fun watch and you can check it out below.
This fan-edit was created by YouTuber Auralnauts, who has a number of funny Star Wars edits on his channel. He's done most of his comedy dubs to the original and prequel trilogy, and now he's turned his sights to providing a voice to the voiceless. Viewers have known that R2-D2 is saying something, but never anything specific. The editor has created a supercut of all of R2's scenes in Star Wars: A New Hope, and gave the droid a voice of his own with very little tampering with the actual footage. Using character reactions and hints, the editor creates feasible dialogue that R2 could have said, all the while giving him a British accent of his own to match C-3PO.
This is a very fun edit that gives some nice personality to R2-D2. The droid has long had a "voice" and personality of his own, conveyed by his actions and body language, and his new voice plays into those perceptions. I always pictured R2 being a little sassier, but there's definitely an adventurous wit to him, with some rebellion (naturally) thrown in.
Some notable moments include R2-D2 reacting to Obi-Wan not remembering him at all. It's a plot hole that could just be explained by Obi-Wan getting up there in years, but you'd think he'd remember those two droids that were always involved in his life or death adventures. R2 listing all of their biggest moments together from the prequels is an especially nice touch. Another great moment is when the droid calls the Stormtrooper "grossly incompetent" for not bothering to check behind a locked door.
Also: "just stick in my face right under my eyeball."
The video also makes the interesting choice to give R2-D2 his own character arc. Over the course of the video, he comes to accept Luke Skywalker as his new master, going from skeptical over his trustworthiness, to being proud of him for blowing up the Death Star. It's a small thing that wouldn't have been necessary for this kind of video but it's a very sweet touch.
You can next see and not understand R2-D2 in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, set to soar into theaters December 15, 2017.
