Star Wars The Black Series R2-D2 review (2025) – Revenge of the Sith

R2-D2 is one of the connecting characters of the Star Wars saga as he was prominently featured in both the Original and Prequel Trilogies. He normally was the faithful droid companion to the Skywalkers, initially Anakin, and then his son, Luke. It wasn’t shocking that R2-D2 was part of the first Star Wars The Black Series wave.

Compared to even the X-Wing Luke that came with him, R2 was a bit too undersized. When I shifted over to the SH Figuarts Star Wars line, I grabbed their far superior version, who ironically scaled much better with the Black Series figures than the actual one. Fast forward a few years and Hasbro released a better version of R2 first with the 40th Anniversary Return of the Jedi tribute line and then under the Mandalorian line (both available on Amazon).

With the 20th Anniversary of Revenge of the Sith, Hasbro saw the opportunity to release another take on R2-D2, which I absolutely had to have in my collection. Let’s see if this version is the definitive take of everyone’s favorite astromech droid.

Packaging: R2-D2 is packaged in the classic Revenge of the Sith 3.75″ scale presentation scaled up for The Black Series. It’s got the Darth Vader silhouette with the bubble style setup from the original figures back in 2005. I still have some old versions of these figures in packaging so it’s definitely cool to revisit one of my favorite figure presentations.

On the left side is a die-cut image of R2 with the massive Star Wars Revenge of the Sith logo in the center. There’s no cool bio over on the back, which is frustrating as the Star Wars team tends to do good write-ups for the characters. Instead, it’s just a proclamation celebrating ROTS’ 20th anniversary.

Likeness: R2-D2 is a tremendous upgrade from the first Black Series version (as he should be) with a much wider body and legs. It’s much easier to envision Kenny Baker in this base. The wider body allows for sharper detailing on the paneling, knobs, vents and dials.

R2’s coils along his legs have more detail with segmented sections. The feet are missing the ports for the coils, however. Interestingly they were included on the first R2-D2 figure. You can pull the center leg out from the base, which you can use for when R2’s on the move.

Aesthetically the larger body looks so much better thanks to the overall wider frame.

Scale: R2-D2 comes up to Obi-Wan Kenobi’s waist so he stands lower than Anakin’s waist. That’s about right for how they should match up compared to each other. Now I need a ROTS version of C3-P0 for a comprehensive take on how R2 fits.

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Paint: This is the category where this R2-D2 really comes up short — pun intended. On its own, the paintjob looks fine, but when checked against other figures or just reference pictures it’s obvious that the Black Series team made some dramatic cuts to the paint details.

It’s not a favorable comparison matching this up against the Figuarts version. That one had a vibrant shade of metallic blue with some subtle grey and grime along the feet. His red light has a translucent type of effect that makes it look like it’s glowing.

When you compare this one to the first R2 you’ll notice the missing paint in the vent slots in the center, the blue paint on the six notches on the left of the circles, the lack of interior blue paint on the bottom vent to the left, the center square interior and the octagon on the right. It’s also missing the grime on the feet. In the next few pics, the left is the original Black Series R2, the Sith one is in the middle and the Figuarts version is on the right.

We’ve seen this before with the Black Series line with the ROTS tribute line. The Commander Cody from this set lacked some of the paintwork from the original version as well.

Articulation: R2-D2 doesn’t need a ton of articulation. He’s a droid and doesn’t need to flip around and kick someone from behind.

Not that R2 can’t go on the offensive as his chest panels on either side open allowing you to plug in swappable arms to fend off buzz droids or Super Battle Droids.

He’s got all of the essential articulation points to hang with Anakin or Luke (depending on your preference).

R2-D2 has:

• head
• chest panels
• legs
• center leg
• ankles

Accessories: R2-D2 comes with more accessories than I would have thought. Most of this load out is similar to the Return of the Jedi and Mandalorian although they had a scanner and periscope that were omitted here.

For his swappable arms, R2 gets a grapple claw, hyperdrive manipulator arm, a terminal data probe and a welder. The terminal probe has some copper paint in the center segment while the welder is painted black. You can plug them into any of the ports, so you have flexibility in terms of what goes where.

Another cool feature is you can raise his head and place the arms. There are slots in this inner body to store them, so you don’t have to worry about forgetting where you placed the arms.

You didn’t miss the scene in any of the six movies where his head raised, but it’s a nice inclusion.

Additionally, he’s got his leg attachments that swap out from the standard ones for his rocket boosters. There are two translucent blue flame bursts to help him ignite the Super Battle Droids. These plug into the bottom of the booster.

Worth it?  The ROTS basic price point was $24.97. That’s the going rate for figures these days and he’s a great value.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10

R2-D2 could have used a bit more paint details, but otherwise this is a very welcome addition to the line especially as an affordable version of a critical character in the saga.

Where to get it?  This ROTS version of R2-D2 is exclusive to Wal-Mart so they’re your main option for this specific look.

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