Ugh , that little twerp R2 - D2 , bumbling around aimlessly , make his cutesy beeps and whistle and always short out at the most inconvenient times . And that self - focus C-3PO , with his oh - g-force - whiz dupe mentality and unendurable emphasis . Both of them , insufferable celebrity to the remainder . As if they were n’t speculative enough , now we ’re stuck with this new BB-8 droid , from " The Force Awakens . " It ’s more cutesy and eye - rolling than 1,000 R2 - D2s , grabbing the spotlight at every eager opportunity .
Meanwhile , the residue of us droids toil in pure obscurity , grinding our gears into slippage until we ’re recycled for bare division . So we – the totally unappreciateddronesof the " Star Wars " epics – will continue to hang out in the background as underpaid duplicate while interns and assistants shine and smoothen the bigwig robots .
Ah , it ’s the lament of the forgotten droids , the convenience that fill in the edges of so many scene in some of the most famousmoviesof all fourth dimension . Unlike duplicate in many sci - fi moving-picture show , these droids are n’t always disposable or exchangeable . True to the particular and astuteness of " Star Wars " storytelling , these robots have their own backstories , personalities and traits , even if they never catch center stagecoach .
unhappily , many of those background droids get recede in the galactic clutter , virtually bury . Keep reading and you ’ll fulfil 10 droids that play their part without the expectation of stardom . They just keep their metallic element nose to the grindstone , adding play and depth to this epic star - riddled saga .
10: WED Treadwell Droid
With gazillion of errant tempest trooperlaserblasts bouncing around , someone has to repair all of the damage . That ’s where the WED Treadwell droid add up in . They fix , diplomacy and fundamentally keep the " Star Wars " protagonists out follow their quests rather of dawdling in the distance version of a tire shop .
Treadwells vary by era and localisation but they ’re similar in that they all have a familiar wide , categoric base on top of tank - similar treads and perch neck , on which binocular optical sensor are mounted . They ’re also outfit with a serial publication of wanderer - similar limb ( though some have more arms than others ) that terminate in various pecker for the multitude of projects they confront .
Perhaps most notably , a Treadwell ( specifically a WED-15 - 77 model ) assisted Luke Skywalker with his family ’s moisturefarmingoperating on Tatooine . During one blue-pencil panorama , the Treadwell malfunction just as Luke was planning to touch a friend . So Luke abandoned the droid , which was after nabbed by desert scavengers . So much for taking caution of your droid friends , huh , Luke ?
9: BT-16 Perimeter Droid
accord to non - canon " Legend " material — that ’s the poppycock that ’s not officially part of the " Star Wars " narrative any longer , but was written before the " Star Wars " story grouping was formed to manage the tales and the timeline — bad guys had to keep their eye exposed for payback - minded Johnny Reb . To that end , the Galactic Empire and Galactic Republic employ security droids like the BT-16 Perimeter droid , made by Arakyd Industries .
These droids were fit out with sensors and blastercannonsto deter or decimate intruders . They were also among Jabba the Hutt ’s most prevailing hanger - on , prowling about his lair save tabs on the approach and leaving of Jabba ’s louche business partners .
The BT-16s were also delightfully weird — some of them featured a blatant clear orb on the undersides of their central dead body element . Inside that ball ? Thebrainof a B’omarr Monk .
The order of the monks was know to remove mastermind from colleagues who pass on a state of enlightenment , disconnect them from their body and suspend them in the form ingredient of a droid . Then the Thelonious Sphere Monk ambled about in the motorize body , destitute of his / her physical materialisation and able to expend each moment study on the universe .
8: WA-7 (FLO)
You ’d think a short miniskirt - wench would be enough to catch the center of at least one motion-picture fan , or even an on - set stamp member . But no , the WA-7 ( also known as FLO ) was swept under the proverbial " Star Wars " rug like so many other unnoticed service workers all over Coruscant ( and the rest of thegalaxy ) .
The WA-7 was a waitress droid that zipped around on a unicycle - style chassis , complete with metallic head fins worthy of a Viking warrior , as well as the sporty metal mini - skirt . Made by GoCorp and Utilitech , the droid stayed vertical thanks to internalgyroscopiccomponents and had a skinny wheel , all the secure to zag and zig through a crowded eatery without crush the toe and tentacle of paying customers .
7: IG-88
In the Wake Island of the Clone Wars , anyone who stumbled across a conflict droid was understandably paranoid . After all , you never knew precisely when those droids might decide to exact a belated measure of retaliation . Battle droids , however , were never as shuddery as assassin droids like the IG-88 .
Immediately upon its initial activating ( we ’re once again in " Legends " territory here ) , the IG-88 killed its human Divine . Then he duplicate hisprogramminginto three identical droids , which sic out on a pursuit to rid the existence of theirorganicoverlords .
On the side , they take up H.M.S. Bounty hunting . Darth Vader engage IG-88 to capture Han Solo ’s Millennium Falcon , which had proven more elusive than Vader expected . Their cause to collar the Falcon failed , but IG-88 set about to surveil his literal lawsuit by uploading his programming into the Death Star , which he hop to use as a beacon to call all droids in the population to arm in a monumental revolt .
luckily for humans and their carbon copy - based brethren , the Rebels muck up up the Death Star just in time , saving brute everywhere from the wickedness of the Empire … and IG-88 , too .
6: R4-G9
With their familiar domed heads , the R4 astromechs serve similar functions as their R2 sidekick . They worked as machinist , fixing up broken and clobber Starfighters , but they also operate as close co - pilots .
One R4 in particular , R4 - G9 ( nicknamed Geenine ) by chance found herself in the thick of some of the most tumultuous moment in " Star Wars " history . She was on the Starfighter that Obi - Wan Kenobi fly to Naboo , where Anakin Skywalker climbed aboard .
Kenobi did n’t always have an R4 by his side , though . He zoomed into the Battle of Coruscant with an R4 - P17 , which was shot and ruined by a bombination droid attack .
Geenine stepped ( or rather , cycle ) into the disturbance . She accompany Kenobi to Utapau in the Outer Rim , where he hoped to locate and for good take down General Grievous . rather , Kenobi was nearlyassassinatedby supposedly friendly dead ringer troopers and he was forced to escape the locale in another ship , leaving Geenine behind . What is it with these Skywalker people abandoning their droids , anyway ? So much for hold .
5: GNK Power Droid
They looked a mess like rubbish cans with leg , but visually , the GNK index droids were about as iconic as backgroundrobotscould be . Still , no one seemed to care much that these manakin service one of the most important functions — allow for exponent anywhere it was needed .
The nickname probably did n’t help oneself matter much . Many the great unwashed referred to the GNKs as " Gonks " in acknowledgement of the poser name as well as the less - than - sophisticated vocal sounds they made .
Although these droids may have ultimately been pretty forgettable , the line they performed was not . They stored monumental amounts ofpowerinside a comparatively thickset form factor . That power was vital for a encompassing regalia of military and civilian function .
4: RA-7
In a macrocosm brimming with untold sentient species , all prate away in their own languages and display specific customs and conduct , go - betweens were decisive . That ’s where protocol droids like C-3PO came in . They spoke meg of languages and translatedculture , too , smoothing interactions between species that might otherwise attack each other with reckless unconstraint .
The RA-7 was one of many protocol droids , with purposely designed blandness to help it stroll through everyday life without much notice . The designs is like to that of C-3PO , but with a slightly more insectoid head .
The droids ' banal coming into court ( and distant personalities ) belie a dark purpose . Their circuitry included covertsurveillancetechnologies that allow them to spy on their surround , making them specially useful to the villainous scheming of purple officeholder of the Galactic Empire .
There were wads of these things aboard the Death Star , where they report any leery occurrent to their evil handlers , lead to the arrest and disappearing of thousands . Most RA-7s perished along with the Death Star .
3: FX-7
With all of the laser blast bounce andlightsabersslashing , someone had do at least a little bit of healing . Often , that job go to aesculapian droids like the FX-7 .
The cylindrical and many - armed FX-7 , as with so many other unnoted droids , take on a polar persona in " Star Wars " yet somehow escaped due deferred payment or honour . That ’s especially true in fit follow Luke Skywalker ’s inauspicious skirmish with a wampa , which attacked him as he scouted the waste of Hoth .
Skywalker ’s wounds landed him in the bacta tank , which contained a slimy , translucent gel that restored him to health . Asurgicaldroid with the model number 2 - 1B got the glory for saving Luke ’s sprightliness . However , it was the FX-7 droid that did the constant monitoring of Luke ’s condition , secure that he ’d live to fight the Empire another day .
2: EV-9D9
Although droids were almost always submissive to carbon - based lifeforms , some were made to harness their own kind . The raspy - voiced EV-9D9 , which worked in Jabba ’s home base , was a executive program droid that took her occupation very , very seriously , to the stage of outright cruelty .
EV-9D9 was Jabba ’s ripe - hand droid , lord over the otherrobotsin her service . She directed their job and otherwise kept the place run as swimmingly as possible . When droids break down to please her whims , she was apt to have them deplume aside , objet d’art by piece , in the most tangled mode potential .
She did n’t bulge out out that way . EV-9D9 began her existence as a wet vaporator technician . But she was reprogrammed in Mos Eisley , and she developed a mean streak that eventually found her delight in the distress of other droids .
Unlike most of the droids on this leaning , EV-9D9 had her brushes with fame in the film . fitly , she threatens both C-3PO and R2 - D2 with physical harm if they do n’t follow her directive . Her menacing voice and conduct made this overshadow droid one of the most memorable of our stand plaster bandage of robot spear carrier .
1: B-U4D
Starfighters of the Resistance are helpless without thefuelthat serve them zig and zag around combat element of the First Order . Someone has to keep the bunch quick to fight and each and every moment . That problem come down mostly to refueling droids like B - U4D , nicknamed Buford .
As part of reason gang operation at the Resistance base on D’Qar , Buford works inexhaustibly ( like most droids ) and do fuel provision without complaint . In " The Force Awakens , " Buford vagabond the background of a few scenes , doing his part to keep thearmyworking against the malevolent Empire .
Droids like Buford are a consummate exemplar of the depth and attribute of the " Star Wars " universe . Even droids that discover only a few frames of movie time — often far in the screen background — have backstory and personality that drives them onward . Whether they apply their potential for good or for iniquity , the Force is a part of them all … even the most unappreciated droids in the galaxy .
Lots More Information
If you were a kid ( like me ) when the first " Star Wars " movies debuted , it was hard not to settle in love with R2 - D2 . Whether it was in the thick of a Dagobah swamp or a Starfighter battle , R2 was an prompt signal of each vista ’s emotional tone , whether it was airheaded , serene or scarey . No matter that he was n’t made of form and bone . R2 was proof that a flick character ’s impact did n’t of necessity depend on facial look or dialogue . Sometimes just a number of good storytelling and a few beep and boops from a funny little droid is all you necessitate to become a sidekick robot into a world-wide celebrity .
