With the second episode of the third season of the Mandalorian having been released, viewers have been reintroduced to Peli Motto and her band of droids and Jawas that she uses to hustle her way through Mos Eisley. With them comes the reintroduction of R5-D4, an astromech droid that many viewers might recognize but not know too much about. Here’s everything you need to know about who is R5-D4 in The Mandalorian.
Was the R5-D4 Droid in A New Hope?
The first time audiences met R5-D4 was in Star Wars: A New Hope where he was seen in the same Sandcrawler that the Jawas were using to transport C-3PO, R2-D2, and countless other droids to be sold off. When the Jawas stopped at the Lars Homestead, Owen Lars and Luke Skywalker bought C-3PO and R5, but before they could leave, R5 malfunctioned and they traded him for R2-D2.
While this was always understood to be a perfect coincidence for the rebellion, it turns out that this moment was actually intentional. According to a short story titled “The Red One” from the book “From a Certain Point of View,” R2 explained to R5 that he was on a mission for the rebellion and that he needed to be purchased immediately so he could escape the Jawas. After having been bought by Owen Lars instead of R2, R5 sacrificed himself to make it appear as though he was malfunctioning so that R2 could be purchased in his place.
Is it the Same R5-D4 Droid The Mandalorian?
Yes, it is the same R5-D4 droid that appeared in A New Hope, as it remained on Tatooine and eventually came into the hands of Peli Motto who used him around the shop for general assistance. He first helped Mando in Chapter Nine by projecting a map of Tatooine to locate Mos Pelgo, and the marks from his “malfunction” were still present on the top of his head all those years later.
It looks like R5 is still running strong given his latest undertaking with the Mandalorian in Chapter 18, so hopefully there will be more to come of him throughout the rest of the series. For now, that’s what we know about who R5-D4 is in The Mandalorian.
