Star Wars: Jon Favreau Teases Appearance of Iconic Droid in ‘The Mandalorian’

Ever since Star Wars: The Mandalorian was announced, fans have wondered if the series would feature appearances from any classic characters, with producer Jon Favreau teasing that R5-D4, who was an integral component in the journey of Luke Skywalker, could have a cameo in the series.

Over on Instagram, Favreau shared an image of the red and white astromech droid that audiences likely recognize from Star Wars: A New Hope. What makes the droid’s role in the saga so memorable is that Owen Lars picked out this droid to help on his moisture farm after purchasing C-3PO, only for R5-D4 to malfunction, leading him to instead purchase R2-D2 instead.

Audiences may have witnessed R5’s malfunction merely as a moment of chance, though various Legends stories revealed that the droid intentionally malfunctioned in order to keep C-3PO and R2-D2 together. In the anthology book From a Certain Point of View, these details are confirmed, with the story “The Red One” revealing that R2 convinced the droid to malfunction in hopes of saving the galaxy.

Interestingly, this is only the latest tease Favreau has shared in regards to familiar droids.

Last year, Favreau shared an image of an IG droid, which many assume to be IG-88. The bounty hunter debuted in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, though earned very little screen time, with various novels and comic books exploring his adventures further. Ahead of that Instagram post, Making Star Wars reported, “IG-88 has recently been seen on set, filming his close-ups, and being the star that he is on the set of The Mandalorian. The old time bounty hunter isn’t just standing around either, we’ve had credible reports about blasters being fired and he’s riding speeder bikes and attacking enemies.”

In the new series, after the stories of Jango and Boba Fett, another warrior emerges in the Star Wars universe. The Mandalorian is set after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the First Order. We follow the travails of a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy far from the authority of the New Republic.

Based on the droid’s malfunction in Star Wars and its appearance above, it’s unlikely we will see the droid spring into action, though its inclusion will serve as an exciting connection to the beginnings of the saga.

Stay tuned for details on Star Wars: The Mandalorian before it debuts on Disney’s new streaming service, Disney+, before the end of the year.

Are you excited to see the droid appear in the series? Let us know in the comments below or hit up @TheWolfman on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!