'The Mandalorian' Could Feature The Return Of Classic Droid R5-D4

We may know the human cast of The Mandalorian, but executive producer Jon Favreau is just now starting to reveal the droid members of the upcoming live-action Star Wars series. Details remain under wraps for the Disney+ show, but Favreau continues to appease fans with photos from the set featuring new props and characters — the latest of which is quite a classic callback. Favreau posted a photo of the R5-D4 unit, a droid that first appeared in 1977's Star Wars: A New Hope.

The droid appeared early on in Star Wars: A New Hope as one of the droids being sold by a group of Jawas on Tatooine to Owen Lars and Luke Skywalker. The fate of the galaxy was almost doomed when Owen bought C-3PO and R5-D4 while ignoring R2-D2, who was carrying the plans for the Death Star in his memory banks. But due to R5-D4 breaking down — purposely malfunctioning its own motivator, according to recent canon — R2-D2 was able to carry out his mission.

It's uncertain what part R5-D4 will play in The Mandalorian, but considering the show's setting "after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the First Order," it's unlikely that this will be the same R5-D4 that saved the galaxy with a simple malfunction, and who in the past had served in the Rebellion against the Galactic Empire. He was already looking pretty worse for wear by the time Luke had left him in A New Hope. Though perhaps he got a nice upgrade thanks to his service for the Rebellion.

The Mandalorian stars Pedro Pascal in the title role of a lone Mandalorian gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy. Carl Weathers, Werner Herzog, Nick Nolte and Gina Carano also have key roles along with Emily Swallow (Supernatural), Omid Abtahi (American Gods) and Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad). The series will have episodes directed by Dave Filoni, Taika Waititi, Bryce Dallas Howard, Deborah Chow, and Rick Famuyiwa.The Mandalorian doesn't have an exact release date, but it will hit Disney+ in 2019.