In the context of popular culture, “Star Wars” is so much more than just a successful film series. Few movies have ever been able to permeate the collective social consciousness the way George Lucas’ sci-fi story has, and many famous features of those films that may otherwise be forgotten in other franchises have survived for decades. The astounding sound design of these films, which has produced noises that even casual fans can know, is an underappreciated aspect of them. Darth Vader breathing, R2-D2 screaming, and a lightsaber blade blazing.
But precisely what sound do we hear when the cherished robot screams? Making a robot that doesn’t use words to communicate scream in a way that can be recognised as a scream is an original idea. It turns out that the sound has some fairly intriguing origins, which helps to explain why the recognisable scream feels so authentic.
Stress led to R2-D2’s iconic scream
As J.W. Rinzler, author of “The Sounds of Star Wars,” recalled to NPRback in 2010, “Go out into the world with your tape recorder,” rather than using a synthesiser, was George Lucas’ suggestion to the group responsible for creating the sound of this universe. The next step was for sound designer Ben Burtt to compile a library of authentic sounds that would eventually be used to create the sounds for this universe. This sent him on a crazy adventure, where he recorded dive equipment to catch Darth Vader’s breathing and the hum from a movie theatre projection booth to generate the iconic lightsaber sound.
But Burtt acknowledged that R2-D2 was his biggest obstacle in that same interview. After attempting and failing at a significant number of approaches, Burtt finally understood that creating his own sounds was the best course of action while generating noises back and forth with Lucas. The sounds of the R2 unit were created by a combination of Burtt’s voice and synthesiser manipulation. Regarding the scream, Burtt was essentially the only one yelling, possibly out of stress.
“I had a room in George Lucas’ house where their offices were, but I was down in the basement. When I wanted to record something I didn’t have a recording booth I used to get under a big table down in the room where I worked, with a microphone, and kind of curl up in a corner. And one day, I just made a scream. I just screamed. Maybe there was some stress behind it. That scream, sped up, is used pretty much straight up as R2-D2’s scream.”
One scream for every Star Wars project
One absolutely amazing aspect of that tragic scream is that it has never been imitated, and R2-D2 has never since utilised another scream. Ben Burtt’s infamous scream from underneath the table has been utilised numerous times over the years and undoubtedly will do so in the future. That is the only scream that exists, according to J.W. Rinzler, as we can see (or rather hear) in the video down below.
“Ben was able to perform a really good scream that he has never been able to replicate, perhaps because he was under stress. Therefore, that 1977 scene is always the one where R2-D2 screams in the movies.”
Through more than four decades, nine films, and counting in the Skywalker saga, one crucial moment of stress was able to define a character.
When R2-D2 isn’t screaming, he’s cursing (probably)
The cry of R2-D2 is audible to all of us. It is ubiquitous and relatable in some ways. With a scream, communication is not limited by words. What about the remaining period, though, when R2 is merely beeping? Through the responses of other characters like C-3PO or Luke Skywalker, we are able to decipher parts of the droid’s language. However, it transpires that they overlooked another crucial aspect: R2-D2 occasionally enjoys using strong language.
Luke Skywalker is injured following a crash landing in Marvel’s “Star Wars” #13, which was released in 2015. Doctor Aphra and her robot Triple-Zero encounter the Jedi and his devoted droid in the aftermath of the disaster. R2 starts beeping a lot, and Triple-Zero translates for the reader even if the comic doesn’t make it clear what the droid is saying. “What a language, my. He is undoubtedly a rude little astronech “He claims. R2-D2 will therefore not just scream when the situation demands it, but there may also be some swearing to go along with that shouting.
