The 15 Best Droids In The Star Wars Universe, Ranked

When George Lucas released "Star Wars" in 1977, the focus was on the struggle between light and dark, good and evil, built on the simple but satisfying architecture of the Hero's Journey. Yet, terrific casting and state-of-the-art effects helped the story of a struggling Rebellion against an evil Empire grow into a greenhouse of world-building, where every planet had stories and countless races thrived. Among these were the droids, artificial life forms that could be anything from utility robots to sentient beings with their own personalities.

Over time, droids developed their own lore, products from myriad galactic corporations that, if left without wipes and restraining bolts, became fully sentient beings. But none of that was important in 1977; instead, all we knew was that a courtly gold robot that specialized in languages and an eager little blue-and-white garbage can were the adorable hearts of a sprawling rebellion. Today, those droids have done everything a human can, and quite a few things we can't. But one thing they definitely did was make us love them. These are the 15 best individual droids in Star Wars, ones we love right down to their bolts.

A GNK droid is nothing special. It's a generator pack, a battery that can walk to where it's needed and rarely shows any motivation or sapience of its own. Yet from the earliest days of the "Star Wars" franchise, there was something charming about these big old grunts and their quiet grumbles of "Gonk! Gonk!"

Constant background features and filler action figures, the Gonk droids finally earned their hour in the sun when the Bad Batch "adopted" a Gonk droid as unique as any one of them. Gonky is a little broken. He can't charge all the way, and mostly he's Wrecker's powerlifting, um, partner on board the Marauder. But he's saved the day more than once, offering up just enough extra juice to save the Batch from Imperial V-Wings in hot pursuit. It was more than enough to earn him a place at Omega's side in the series finale, taking off together to join the Rebellion.

The IG unit is best known as a bounty hunter, with IG-88 among the other high-caliber hunters that Darth Vader employs in "The Empire Strikes Back." But that small role has been supplanted by a cooler unit, the IG-11. Introduced in the premiere of "The Mandalorian," IG-11 is a hunter chasing the same contract as Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), a target that turns out to be the most adorable green baby in the galaxy. IG-11 doesn't make it out of the hunt alive, but for droids, that's not always the end.

Later, it's revealed that the reclusive Ugnaught Kulil rebuilt the droid. That made him suitable to act as a nurse for little Grogu, and even capable of proving his loyalty to the droid-loathing Din. He's so loyal that it's not long before IG dies — again — to protect Grogu and his friends, but that's still not this droid's whole story. Despite fears that he'd turn out as ham-fisted as Chewbacca's survival in the sequels, IG is reincarnated one more time in the final episode of season 3, hollowed into a useful mini-Gundam for Grogu to pilot when his stubby little legs aren't enough for the job.

Protocol droids are a broad niche, with multiple brands available. The 3PO series is galaxy-famous, for good reason. But the insectoid RA-7 models would be popular with Imperials, who used them (badly) for spy jobs and analytics. Despite that usefulness, one called AP-5 started out well-regarded in the Clone Wars as an analyst, then found itself stuck running Imperial inventories. Then it met the crew of "Star Wars Rebels."

AP-5 is a grumpy old cuss of a droid that promptly sells out his imperial bosses, partially because of their attitude, and mostly because Chopper, a homicidal little bucket of a droid, was nice to him. After this, AP-5 becomes the only one besides Hera who could put up with the murderous orange droid. More importantly, though, his years of information give the crew of the Ghost coordinates to a planet so obscure that they can hide there long enough to prepare themselves for the final season's powerful liberation of Lothal — and the tactics of Grand Admiral Thrawn.

"Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order" did a lot of things right straight out of the gate. Cal Kestis' introduction wasn't just thrilling, but it quickly established the kind of guy he was. The combat was excellent, mixing a smooth flow with a crunchy Soulslike twist. And it gave Cal one of the best droid sidekicks to date.

BD-1 ensures the mournful D-O from "Revenge of the Sith" can't make it onto this list, taking the glory of being a compact size li'l cutie with beeps and borps designed to drill his way into our hearts. An explorer-type, BD-1 takes on the puzzle-solving problems the Force couldn't handle, from opening doors to scanning tech. His adorable competency made him a brand ambassador, with other BD units quickly introduced in "Doctor Aphra" and "The Book of Boba Fett" so that casual "Star Wars" fans had a chance to meet the new best droid model in town (and, as our 2024 gift list suggested, get an adorable remote-controlled one for yourself). But nothing yet matches BD-1 himself, who also returns in "Star Wars Jedi: Survivor" to help keep Cal from falling entirely to the Dark Side.

"Solo: A Star Wars Story" is a perfectly good movie, and part of why it's often so good is L3-37, a perky, high-spirited droid dedicated to the cause of droid freedom. L3-37 (performed by Phoebe Waller-Bridge) is Lando Calrissian's (Donald Glover) best bud. She's so dedicated that she's willing to die for it, and proves that by being fatally shot on Kessel (fridged, we might suggest), having kicked off a new phase of droid rebellion.

From there, her story is a little weird. A top navigator due to her years of cumulative experience, her absence on Kessel makes things dangerous for Solo and Lando. Lando uploads her into the Millennium Falcon, where the ship's own AI convinces her to meld with it, creating an upgraded custom system for the Falcon and retroactively giving the elder Solo (Harrison Ford) a reason for his sometimes unbelievable luck as a pilot. The "Solo" novelization by Mur Lafferty makes L3-37's hesitancy clear; this is a violation of her individuality. Still, as the Falcon, L3-37 is now part of the very foundation of "Star Wars."

BB-8, the orange and white beach ball droid introduced in "The Force Awakens," was clearly grown in a lab in order to appeal to audiences, especially children. And even cynically knowing that, you know what? It paid off. While the rest of the sequel trilogy remains hotly debated, there are two unalloyed good bits: The casting is fire across the board, and BB-8 rolls through the whole thing like a lovable puppy. It helps that, like many of the best droids, BB-8 is a practical effect, designed by a company named Sphero, giving him a Muppet sense of realness.

There's a bit of great cheese in his earliest signature moment, where BB-8 is conniving with one of his human buddies and he pops out a tiny flame tool in such a way that it conveys, precisely, an all-too-human thumbs-up gesture. He retains that spark of personality throughout the movies, and even briefly brings it to the underrated "Star Wars Resistance" cartoon series.

Sometimes you might find baby animals with a note saying "Do Not Separate." Such is the power of a sibling bond, adopted or blood. It may seem strange to apply that idea to droids, but since our first introduction to droids was through such a pair, it shouldn't be a surprise to discover that their Evil Counterparts are similar.

From their canon beginnings, the assassin droid, 0-0-0, and his partner in murder, the deadly "astromech" BT-1, were never far apart. Doctor Aphra found the deactivated BT unit in a Tarkin Initiative Lab, and not long after, "acquired" (stole) what she needed to activate an Old Republic-era droid matrix, uploading it in a deceptive protocol body. The two rebooted droids, keyed only to heed Aphra and Lord Vader, began a new life of terrorizing and killing their masters' enemies. Courtly and polite, 0-0-0 is delighted to use his array of toxins and tools to induce pain, and bold enough to take on Luke Skywalker in "Star Wars (2015)," issue 13, while BT-1 is the right match of stubborn and malicious to go toe-to-toe with R2-D2 in that same issue — and cause that storied droid to back off.

Introduced in "A New Hope" as a borked red-and-white astromech that doesn't make it home with Luke Skywalker, that ignominious introduction wouldn't be the end for R5-D4. As it turns out, "The Red One," a canon short story in "A Certain Point of View" written by Rae Carson, reveals that R2-D2 persuaded R5 to let R2 be sold as soon as tomorrow's market for the sake of the Rebellion. As fate continually passes R5 by, he becomes background fodder for the prequels, seen on Tatooine when Anakin returns.

R5 finally gets his day on "The Mandalorian" when Din Djarin needs a droid to help him uncover the secrets of ruined Mandalore, and Peli Motto (Amy Sedaris) has since gotten her hands on the poor old 'mech. R5-D4 is understandably nervous about his big role, but he nuts and bolts it up in time to fend off a gang of mouse droids and open the way for a full Mandalorian assault on Moff Gideon's (Giancarlo Esposito) hidden Imperial base. Great job, little guy.

"Andor" introduced a wealth of characters to fall in love with — or joyfully hate, if your name is Dedra Meero (Denise Gough) — but in "Star Wars" tradition, it added a new droid which we all promptly adopted as our son. B2EMO is a stocky old gent, a salvage groundmech that traveled with Maarva Andor and her partner, Clem. He was there when the couple discovered young Cassian, and he would be there, decades later, when the aging Maarva worried about her trouble-seeking adopted son.

As the genesis of the Rebellion begins under the eye of Cassian (Diego Luna) and Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård), B2EMO never sees a front line, never handles a weapon. He collects gossip around Ferrix for Maarva when she couldn't get around as easily, and he serves as a reminder of the innocence that has a right to exist, even in the face of the cynical Empire. He's just one of the countless friends and children worth fighting for loyal droid that would go on to hold the heart of the Andor family alongside Bix.

The original protocol droid we all know and love, C-3PO, also called Threepio, was one of our first character introductions in "Star Wars: A New Hope." Fussy and nervous, he tails behind the stocky blue and white R2 unit, bleating questions about this undefined mission his buddy is on. They're moments of instant character definition: while this golden fellow is a robot, he's, for all the world, also an uptight English butler stuck on the rules that have kept his life together thus far.

That uptightness about Threepio is both his blessing and curse (and it may also be performer Anthony Daniels' own burden to bear). While he has plenty of loving fans — and deserves them — Threepio can come off a little too much, sometimes, hung up on his anxieties and happy to complain about them. But there's no doubt he's there when it matters most, even if it means he has to act as a minor god to a clan of miniature cave bears in order to save his human friends. He's also a veteran of the fall of the Republic, having been the young Anakin's garage project when Princess Amidala and her Jedi retinue arrive on Tatooine in need of help. When it comes to "Star Wars," C-3PO is central to it all.

With his full origins unknown (but hinted to be vaguely similar to voice performer David Tennant's own origins as the Doctor), Professor Huyang is the oldest droid we know of, as he was active during the Old Republic era. We first meet Huyang in a series of "Clone Wars" episodes in which Ahsoka and a group of Padawans end up as prey for a gang of Trandoshan bounty hunters. It was a formative event for Ahsoka (Rosario Dawson on the character's eponymous show), and years later, Huyang is at her side as she hunts the missing Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen).

As intelligent and helpful in a field operation as Huyang is, that's not where his specialties lie. He's a very special kind of architect droid; a lightsaber architect with centuries of databanks about the intricacies of kyber crystals and how they interlace with the Force. Affable yet still touched with ancient mystery, Huyang quickly became one of the coolest recent additions to "Star Wars" droid lore, and adorably not above helping out some High Republic younglings on "Young Jedi Adventures."

"Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" did something new for "Star Wars." It took the trappings of a spy and heist movie (including complicated yet competent characters we quickly fell in love with) and built it around the hopefulness of the Rebellion. It also dared to make us realize that the real cost of winning against the Empire wasn't just a few X-wings lost and a medal ceremony, but Pyrrhic victories that end with tears as our cast of new heroes proves willing to die to bring a brighter tomorrow.

Among them was K-2SO, a sardonic tin can that used to be an Imperial KX security droid. Deadly with or without weapons and voiced by veteran Disney actor Alan Tudyk, K-2SO provides black comedy levity for the mission at hand. He also makes a heroic sacrifice needed to steal the Death Star plans, and we're still not over it. Thus, it was good news to get a little more of this magnificent brat of a droid on "Andor," although director Tony Gilroy made us wait for the final arc of season 2 for that. Worth the wait, K-2SO immediately reasserts his character by casually yeeting his problems (Imperials) off any high point available.

There's a benchmark for sarcastic murder droids in "Star Wars," and it lies in the Legends continuity. HK-47 is a companion acquired during the original "Knights of the Old Republic" video game, reappearing in both its sequel and the "Old Republic" MMO. His personality is, in a word, misanthropic, preferring to refer to any and all organic entities as "meatbags" and responding derisively to any Light-sided action a player can take. But all of this is understating 47's role in "Star Wars" history: He made murderbots cool.

It was hard not to fall in love with a robot with zero inhibitions or regret, and his sarcastic cruelties would pave the way for K-2SO's better-targeted and (slightly) better-natured hostile behaviors. HK-47's impact on the "KOTOR" franchise meant writers and fans would find ways to slip him into canon ever since, with Chuck Wendig sneaking a reference to him via the bloody B-1 droid Mister Bones in "Aftermath." That's the closest win yet for this sniper-specialist, but at least his product line is back in canon production: modified HK units appear in "The Mandalorian" season 2, protecting Thrawn's contact, Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto), returning alongside her on "Ahsoka."

Chopper, actual droid designation C1-10P, probably read a droid mythology book about HK-47 and bleeped quietly to itself, "nice." An astromech with the biggest attitude in the Core, Chopper's loyalties are, thankfully, the second most iconic thing next to his propensity for killing. He was there for Hera Syndulla's childhood, and he's still there by her side as she stands as a general for the New Republic. In between these two points are profanity, death, offerings of assassination, and the occasional round of pouting due to a lack of death.

The numbers don't lie: Chopper's canon kill count is as "low" as 5,000 if you restrict his actions to direct involvement, or over 50,000 if you include the time he sabotaged an Imperial Interdictor ("Rebels" season 2, episode 7), which also took out two light cruisers. Thankfully, he's firmly on the Rebellion's side, and he does have, deep down, a good heart for those he cares about.

George Lucas believes that the humble blue astromech droid R2-D2 is the narrative heart of "Star Wars," and it's not hard to see what he means. From the moment "A New Hope" opens to the close of "Return of the Jedi," he's at the center of the action — and the prequels honor his role by making him almost as central once young Anakin (Hayden Christensen) makes fast friends of Artoo, then one of Queen Amidala's (Natalie Portman) starship droids. As the Clone Wars kick off, R2-D2 is Anakin Skywalker's constant companion in both flight and crime. And when J.J. Abrams announced the "Star Wars" sequel series, who got the first character headline? Yup, our boy, Artoo.

Yes, the true OG droid troublemaker of "Star Wars" is R2-D2, who learned from the best and then turned over those lessons to the future of the Rebellion and its new Jedi hopeful, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill). Sassy, savvy, and ever-reliable even when his gold-chrome bud Threepio is getting nervous, R2-D2 is there to make sure the right thing gets done. No matter what.