Summary

• The Jedi droid Professor Huyang could replace R2-D2 and C-3PO by connecting the Star Wars films.
• Huyang has already appeared in recent Star Wars projects and is one of the oldest known characters in the franchise.
• Huyang's role would honor George Lucas and serve as key connective tissue in the Star Wars universe (just like Artoo and Threepio have).

Star Wars has already set up R2-D2 and C-3PO's replacements ahead of the franchise's movies. Although the iconic droid duo has been featured in every Skywalker saga movie and more, another droid may take the reins who can better connect all the films set in the galaxy far, far away. To that end, this droid has already been featured in a handful of recent Star Wars projects.

Without question, Artoo and Threepio are some of the most beloved and popular droid characters in the entire Star Wars franchise. However, they haven't been able to be in every single Star Wars project, and the franchise is going in some new directions with films set in various eras in the established Star Wars timeline. To that end, it seems as though the Jedi droid Professor Huyang is in a better position to make appearances in Star Wars' films, continuing the role the original duo played by connecting the entire saga.

Ahsoka's Lightsaber Droid Huyang Can Bind All Future Star Wars Movies Together

Huyang's Old Enough To Be In All of Star Wars' Movies

As confirmed in the Star Wars Timelines guidebook, Professor Huyang was powered up in the year 25,025 BBY, only five years after the inception of the very first Jedi in the Star Wars canon. Huyang was created to help younglings create their lightsabers, a critical role he dutifully played for thousands of years until the end of the Jedi Order as seen in Revenge of the Sith with Order 66. As such, this means that Huyang could very well make an appearance in James Mangold's Dawn of the Jedi movie which will explore the origins of the First Jedi.

Thanks to Ahsoka, it's been confirmed that Huyang continued to serve the few Jedi who remained during the New Republic Era, primarily Sabine Wren, Ezra Bridger, and Ahsoka Tano herself. As such, it stands to reason that Huyang could make appearances in either Jon Favreau's The Mandalorian & Grogu movie and/or the New Republic crossover movie from Dave Filoni. It's also possible that Huyang could later assist Rey Skywalker in the New Jedi Order movie from Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy as Rey begins rebuilding the Jedi Order in the aftermath of the sequel trilogy.

Essentially, Huyang would be able to do what R2-D2 and C-3PO couldn't due to his age as one of the oldest known Star Wars characters in the entire franchise. The Jedi droid with his vast stores of knowledge and history could easily connect all the films despite being so far away from each other on the established Star Wars timeline.

Artoo & Threepio's Replacement Is A Smart Way Of Honoring Lucas

A Keeper of History and Legacy

It's important to note that Artoo and Threepio have never been ive Star Wars characters who are just around for the sake of tradition. While they were never the main characters in the Skywalker saga, both droids proved themselves on multiple occasions to be incredibly valuable. Without Artoo in particular, nothing good would have happened in Star Wars as multiple heroes would have died several times over without the astromech being there to get them out of danger.

In a similar vein, the same would very much be true for Professor Huyang who's already played a key role in assisting the heroes of Ahsoka such as helping train Sabine, piloting Ahsoka's T-6 shuttle, helping Ezra construct his new lightsaber, and more. Likewise, the same was true with his first appearance in The Clone Wars when he helped Jedi younglings evade a group of pirates as well as General Grievous. He'd likely play just as active a role in any Star Wars movie he'd appear in while also serving as key connective tissue (just like Artoo and Threepio).

R2-D2 and C-3PO by no means have to go anywhere in Star Wars, though Huyang does seem to be in a prime position to better fulfill the same kind of role going forward. Huyang's entire existence is a testament to the legacy and history of Star Wars, including his impressive storytelling abilities as seen in Ahsoka with "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...". To that end, there's no better droid to honor George Lucas and continue the roles of Artoo and Threepio going forward in the Star Wars franchise.