MovieChat Forums > Star Wars (1977) Discussion > If You Really Want to Get Technical Abou...

If You Really Want to Get Technical About It...

posted 5 years ago by Sandman81 (1509)
21 replies | jump to latest

The Droids are rightfully the property of Darth Vader, and he's just trying to reclaim his property.

Lets start from the beginning. R2 belonged to Padme, and C-3PO was built by Anakin. When Anakin left, his Mother kept him and brought him with her to the Lars Farm. Now it gets a little tricky. Since Shmi was still alive when Anakin arrived, 3PO would either be split 50/50 between Shmi and Cliegg, or still 100% Shmi's depending on if they had a prenup or not. If it was a split then Anakin could make a claim on sole ownership if Cliegg agreed, which he obviously did. In the novelization, Aunt Beru tells Padme that they can take 3PO with them, since Anakin was the one who built him. So Anakin and Padme entered their marriage each owning a droid, and now they co-own the pair, again assuming no prenup. Ironically, Anakin became very close to R2, since he accompanied Anakin and Obi-Wan on their missions, and C-3PO stayed to care for Padme and probably was useful when she was meeting with non-English speaking Senators.

Now for ROTS, R2 arrived on Mustafur with Anakin and was told to stay with his ship. 3PO arrives with Padme and stays on the ship. R2 makes his way to Padme's ship and they all leave with Obi-Wan, and Padme who dies shortly after. But Anakin is still alive. So the Droids would be his sole property.

Unless we want to use Obi-Wans "certain point of view" and say that Anakin Skywalker was dead, and Darth Vader was someone else. In which case they would belong to Luke/Leia.

[–] April-151-CT (10210) 5 years ago

Shuddup with that garbage!! Those other 3 movies don't exist. 😝😝😝😝

[–] Ace_Spade (9601) 5 years ago

I usually just pretend the prequels don't exist. I'm happier that way and I don't have to go pirouetting through logic loops.

[–] April-151-CT (10210) 5 years ago

Very wise indeed. All this talk about how JJ and RJ ruined SW when it was Lucas himself that was the one who ruined it. The other 2 just followed his lead.

[–] Ace_Spade (9601) 5 years ago

That was exactly my reaction! Disney bought Star Wars and friends of mine asked me, "What do you think?" and I'd say, "What are they gonna do? Ruin it?"

The worst had happened: it went from being an unforgettable story that was unique and special and couldn't be replicated to being a franchise where new versions and sequels and prequels were coming out all the time. The Clone Wars, the toy lines - it all just chipped away at that specialness - the rarity of it - until it was all gone away.

Heck, he used up a bunch of it just by making sequels at all, certainly by cranking out toys and lunchboxes. But critical mass was the prequels: wiped it all out.

[–] April-151-CT (10210) 5 years ago

Well the merchandising part I don't mind. That was the same way since the beginning. It was changing the story and shit, and constantly adding new CGI to the originals that is the problem.

[–] AP (5291) 4 years ago

I agree with most of this. It seems a bit odd to be angry at the merchandising, though as that has been a huge part of the franchise since day one.

[–] Ace_Spade (9601) 4 years ago

It's not that I think toys of any kind ruined Star Wars (or anything else, really, since the original property is always good or bad regardless of tie-in lunchboxes), but more that it's one more crack in the metaphorical wall. It cheapens it a little bit. When you pile it on with all the other stuff, it breaks the wall down.

Also, while merchandising was right there from the get-go, the importance of merchandising did seem to increase. Gary Kurtz talks about this; it was one of the main reasons he was peeved off and caused the rift between him and George, leading to his abandoning/being fired from Return of the Jedi. So, while merchandising was always there, it has accelerated.

We could also add that Lucas was signing off (and later regretting considerably) stuff like the Holiday Special as early as, let's see...all of one year after the first film.

[–] Ace_Spade (9601) 4 years ago

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

Exactly.

[–] GreenGoblinsOck8 (7800) 5 years ago

Don't take this the wrong way, but I really don't think Darth Vader cared at all about C3-P0 or R2-D2.

[–] kwestmo (4385) 5 years ago

You put much more thought into this situation than George Lucas did!

[–] Otter (24464) 5 years ago

Ain't it the truth!

Although he hasn't put in enough thought to wonder how inheritance laws work in that universe, whether property goes to an estranged spouse or children, whether Padme wrote her dirtbag husband out of her will (if wills exist there), whether Nabooian senators or sworn Jedi own personal property at all, or whether anything of theirs becomes the property of Naboo or the Jedi order or whatever upon their death.

[–] kwestmo (4385) 5 years ago

Still, I'll blame Lucas for making it as he went along rather than at least formulating a basic frame work for his "story".

[–] Otter (24464) 5 years ago

We love the films anyway, right? RIGHT???

I'm willing to forgive Lucas a certain amount of this stuff, because he was a commercial filmmaker trying to make a living and meet production deadlines and so on. To do a really perfect job of worldbuilding you've either got to be long-term unemployed like J.K. Rowling, or a tenured Prof. like J.R.R. Tolkien, who BTW was able to spend a couple of decades just worldbuilding before he started writing his magnum opus.

Besides, Lucas's contradictions and gaps can be fun, if approached in the right spirit!

[–] kwestmo (4385) 5 years ago

I like the original first one. The second two are fair. The prequels are snore fests. I didn't waste my time with any of the others.

George Lucas is incredible in that is he the world's most successful toy salesman and he is able to get people to pay to watch the commercials for his toys.

[–] Sandman81 (1509) 5 years ago

And here's something that will really blow your mind. After the death of General Organa, the droids were briefly the property of Kylo Ren, until his death. Now they're not really anyone's, so legally should be put up for auction.

[–] MaximRecoil (4760) 5 years ago

In all likelihood, C-3PO belongs to Watto, since he probably didn't give him the parts to build C-3PO, i.e., Anakin probably stole the parts from him, the same as he did for the parts for the pod racer that he built on the sly.

Watto didn't seem like the generous type, and Anakin, being Watto's slave, wouldn't have any other source for a nearly complete set of protocol droid parts.

[–] Otter (24464) 5 years ago

Okay. Anakin was a minor when he built C3PO, and at least on Earth, minors don't legally own property, their possessions legally belong to their parent or guardian. So while being build CPO was probably the legal property of Watto the slave owner, and then became the property of Shmi when she was freed and married Lars. If community property laws apply on Tattooine, and she did not make a will stating otherwise, her droid would become the property of her spouse when she died, and then the property of his son. And that applies whether Jedi can own personal property or not, and I assume they do not as that could constitute the sort of "attachment" that the order disapproves of.

Which means that Owen Lars paid the Jawas good money for a droid he legally owned! He'd be SO pissed if he hadn't been fried like a chicken leg the next day!

R2D2, on the other hand, was probably the property of the Jedi Order, if I'm right about individual knights forswearing personal property. Which would make him first the property of the order, and then, of whoever bought him at the post-massacre fire sale.

[–] Sandman81 (1509) 4 years ago

HAHAHA I love the idea of Uncle Owen buying a droid he technically owned. Some people just never catch a break.

[–] AP (5291) 4 years ago

Never thought about it like that. That's great!

[–] Zilkin (407) 4 years ago

But what about the droid attack on the wookies