Did Darth Vader ever talk to R2-D2 again?

Question

C3P0 had a memory wipe, but R2-D2 and Darth Vader never had their memories wiped. Both were terrific friends. Did they ever interact with each other again?

Oh, I see you're the same person who did the other 'Vader-Droids' question. I'll repeat one thing I commented about there. There is a comic where Vader reflects on stuff when he discovers Threepio blasted apart on Bespin, but Threepio is deactivated (and wiped anyway). AFAIK this is the only "interaction" between Vader and either droid that acknowledges his past association but like I said, it's old EU canon, so it's now irrelevant anyway. It may still be of interest. IIRC it was one of the one-off stories in the 'Star Wars Tales' series. I'll have a quick look. — Judy, Jan 23 '15 at 04:42
Oh, that was easy. Found it in seconds. It's called Thank the Maker and is used as backstory and humanisation for Vader. Except like I said, it's now been chucked in the bin with the rest of the EU. — Judy, Jan 23 '15 at 04:48
I wonder if Luke could teach R2D2 to communicate with Anakin's force ghost. — No Magic, Jan 23 '15 at 09:11
@Richard For the record, R2D2 was friends with Anakin, not Vader. What you wrote is true... "from a certain point of view" :) — jub0bs, Jan 23 '15 at 13:09
@SS-3.1415926535897932384626433 what does your username stand for/represent? That line doesn't answer my question. Are you asserting that he's speaking from the time of c-3po's memory wipe? What would that have to do with a time period for R2D2? — JMFB, Apr 10 '15 at 02:10
@JMFB Does that matter he was speaking or not? Start the time period from there.. — user931, Apr 10 '15 at 02:25
@SS-3.1415926535897932384626433 Huh? Can you use formal nouns instead of pronouns so your posts are a bit more coherent. If you're asking why it matters what time period he's asking the question about, that would matter because his question is about a time period. There are many other sources besides the 6 movies listed in the answer below. There are supplemental reference books, Star Trek Novels, the new animated series on TV that have come out, etc. So it does matter what time period he is asking about. — JMFB, Apr 10 '15 at 02:28
@SS-3.1415926535897932384626433 What does your username stand for? — JMFB, Apr 10 '15 at 02:29
@JMFB It looks like SS and then followed by the digits of Pi. — The Unknown Dev, Jan 17 '16 at 15:51

score 158 · Accepted Answer · edited Jan 17 '16 at 13:39

158

Within the established Disney/Lucasfilm canon (the six theatrical movies, Clone Wars TV series, Clone Wars film and Star Wars : Rebels TV Series) Darth never spoke with R2D2 again, although they did briefly interact in 'A New Hope'.

A New Hope :

Darth just misses R2D2 on the Tantive IV.
They're both on the Death Star at the same time but it's reasonably clear that they didn't meet, even for a polite lunch.
They're around 50 yards from each other during the trench run. Vader shoots at Luke and inadvertently hits Artoo in the head. Awkward.

Empire Strikes Back

Darth just misses R2D2 during the Hoth escape.
They're both (briefly) in Cloud City together. Once again, they fail to meet up, even for drinks or a chat. Possibly R2D2 is still sore about the whole "shot me in the head" thing.

Return of the Jedi

They're both on the surface of Endor during the rebel assault sequence. Once more, they fail to touch base. At this point it's looking almost deliberate.
They do have the opportunity for a tête-à-tête at the very end of the film (back on Endor) but unfortunately Darth Vader is dead and hence not much of a talker. My guess is that the main topic of conversation would be around the subject of "who shot who in the head" so it's probably for the best anyway.

The Force Awakens

Darth Vader is dead anyway. Only his helmet survived which can't interact with R2-D2.
It's not clear whether R2-D2 can see a force ghost.

Star Wars Comic

As of April 2014, the comic serial is now considered part of the main Star Wars canon.

In Book 1, Part 2 of the New Marvel Star Wars serial, both Vader and Artoo are on Cymoon 1. At one point, Artoo is in an Imperial Walker that attempts to stamp on Vader. Once again events conspire to prevent them from speaking to each other.

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edited Jan 17 '16 at 13:39

Community

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answered Jan 23 '15 at 02:29

Valorum

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Funny answer, +1, but... What about their facebook profiles? Had they added each other as friends? – SJuan76 Jan 23 '15 at 08:03
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@SJuan76 - Relationship status : It's *really* complicated. – Valorum Jan 23 '15 at 09:22
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@SJuan76 Contact via SpaceBook was likely limited because the Emperor cracked down on HoloNet access for non-Imperials, turning it into a military network and propaganda machine. – Thomas Jacobs Jan 23 '15 at 10:34
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Does R2D2 have the ability to perceive force ghosts? – jpmc26 Jan 23 '15 at 12:43
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@jpmc26 You have to get the delux model for that feature. – Zibbobz Jan 23 '15 at 14:48
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@jpmc26 - Only Skippy the Jedi Droid can see force ghosts – Valorum Jan 23 '15 at 14:58
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"At this point it's looking almost deliberate." Maybe it's because of something you neglected to mention: when they were "approximately 500 yards away" in A New Hope, Vader shot R2D2. I wouldn't want to hang out with him if he did that to me. – KSmarts Jan 23 '15 at 16:31
@KSmarts - You're right. I've amended accordingly. I can only assume that after someone shoots you in the head, it's reallllly awkward when you next see them, – Valorum Jan 23 '15 at 16:52
Vader’s all “I ain’t even know what dat bitch’s problem iz” and R2 be all “I only surround myself with positive people and I don’t get involved with drama, so I’m not going to comment on this one, let’s just leave it at she knows what she did, peace and love xx.” – Paul D. Waite Jan 23 '15 at 16:59
Do Luke/R2 even know it's Vader in the Tie Fighter, or vice versa? – phantom42 Jan 23 '15 at 17:01
@phantom42 - Not canonically. There's at least a possibility the Rebels may hear about it through their spies though. – Valorum Jan 23 '15 at 17:09
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A better question, would R2 recognize its old friend under the helmet? I doubt he got a "unscrambling Vader helm voice to hear the human one behind it" device. – Jonathan Drapeau Jan 23 '15 at 17:56
I'm not going to do the calculations for how small an X-Wing would be when viewed from 500 yards, but even 500 feet seems on the high side for the camera shots from Vader's cockpit. Of course, the out of cockpit view never really jived with that either. – Dacio Jan 24 '15 at 02:54
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@dacio - It's almost like the film's makers weren't striving for realism. – Valorum Jan 24 '15 at 09:51
@JonathanDrapeau - Good question. My guess is maybe. Artoo certainly seems to have bio-sensors and a host of other unknown senses as the plot necessitates. – Valorum Jan 24 '15 at 14:13
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I sense something, a presence I've not felt since... – SQB Feb 21 '15 at 08:59
Didn't R2-D2 contact Darth Vader in "Revenge Of The Sith"? – TimSparrow Oct 09 '17 at 16:54
@TimSparrow - When are you thinking of? – Valorum Oct 09 '17 at 17:38
@Valorum from his turning to the Dark Side, until the end of the movie. Was not R2 Anakin's droid? – TimSparrow Oct 09 '17 at 17:47
@TimSparrow - The question is asking about his actions after the penultimate scene in Revenge of the Sith. – Valorum Oct 09 '17 at 18:24
You might think they were trying to avoid each other. – Spencer Jun 26 '20 at 21:54
+1 for a wit that approaches that of Douglas Adams, not to mention the actual answer – Rubellite Fae Apr 06 '21 at 04:36