The missing piece: Star Wars' R2-D2 originally a key character in Lego Movie

Directors say they included the droid into their animation, but were refused permission to use him by Star Wars franchise owner Disney

The Lego Movie featured many established characters, including Batman, Green Lantern and Wonder Woman. Photograph: Allstar/Warner Bros/Sportsphoto Ltd

The Lego Movie might have featured Star Wars’ R2-D2 in a key role, but for the rights holders’ refusal to allow the diminutive droid to take part, according to the film’s directors.
Speaking to Yahoo! Movies, Phil Lord and Chris Miller revealed that Luke Skywalker’s loyal aide was a “Batman-level” supporting character in early drafts of the film, which took $468m at the global box office earlier this year after unexpectedly glowing reviews. The toy version of Batman eventually played a notable role in the storyline, which centres on an ordinary Lego construction worker who discovers that the world around him is being manipulated by mysterious forces.

Miller said he and Lord initially wrote the film without considering the copyright issues relating to specific properties. Batman is owned by The Lego Movie’s studio, Warner Bros, but R2-D2 is now a Disney-owned character following the studio’s $4bn purchase of all rights to Star Wars in October 2012.

“A kid doesn’t have lawyers that won’t allow the toys to play together,” said Miller. “Part of the appeal for us was that Roger Rabbit thing, that you can get these characters together that you couldn’t get in any other type of movie. Watching my own son play, he does put Batman on the Millennium Falcon and there’s no one saying they take place in completely different times and galaxies.”

Lord added: “We figured we could get R2-D2 because his voice wasn’t a human being.”

Lord and Miller were, however, able to briefly include Star Wars stalwarts Han Solo, Lando Calrissian, C-3PO and the Millennium Falcon spacecraft in The Lego Movie. The writer-director team revealed they are about to start writing the sequel, with the film expected to be released in 2018. The likelihood of the presence of a certain vertically challenged astromech droid has not yet been confirmed.