A full R2-D2 droid built from parts used in the original Star Wars trilogy sold for almost $3 million at a film memorabilia auction on Wednesday, the Associated Press reports—a steep mark-up from the jawa prices Uncle Ben originally shelled out for the R2 unit.
California auction house Profiles in History also sold off other rare Star Wars props during the Hollywood89 auction, including Luke's blue lightsaber and Darth Vader's helmet, but none of the items raked in a cool $2.76 mil like the R2-D2 droid. The lightsaber and helmet sold for $450,000 and $96,000, respectively.
Profiles in History did not reveal the name of the lucky millionaire who now owns a piece of Star Wars history, but whoever they are, they're presumably excited to have finally found the droid they were looking for. (Although they could have saved a few bucks and just built their own R2, but whatever.)
The buyer now has their hands on original pieces of the Tony Dyson-designed costume that actor Kenny Baker wore while playing R2-D2 in the original films. According to Profiles in History, this 3.5-foot R2 unit was painstakingly assembled from pieces of different R2-D2s from the series, as well as a few small pieces from the prequels to round it out. The top dome was first worn by Baker on the set of A New Hope, and has an interior handle Baker used to move the droid's "eye." Each of the legs were made for Empire Strikes Back, and a hatch on R2's back was salvaged from the set of Attack of the Clones.
The auction house will be selling off a few more Star Wars-related items through Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds's personal property auction—including a life-sized C3PO that once belonged to Fisher—in case the mystery collector wants to complete their droid collection.
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