Despite play as if he did not know the astromech droid , one theory holds that Obi - Wan Kenobi recognized R2 - D2 inStar war : A New Hope . During Obi - Wan ’s first meeting with Luke Skywalker inA New Hope , Luke explained that he was assay to return R2 - D2 to his proprietor , Obi - Wan Kenobi . Since Obi - Wan had been in concealing , cash in one’s chips by the name Ben Kenobi , he accept that he was really Obi - Wan . However , he traverse owning R2 - D2 , acting as if he was not intimate with the droid .

When the firstStar Warsmovie   premiered , none of the old age of history and traditional knowledge between Obi - Wan and R2 - D2 was known , so this chemical reaction made sense . However , theStar Warsprequel trilogy and the animated seriesStar Wars : The Clone Warschanged this . Throughout these stories , Obi - Wan frequently fought alongside R2 - D2 . start withStar state of war : Episode I -   The Phantom Menace , Obi - Wan and R2 - D2 helped free Naboo from the Trade Federation ’s encroachment . Later , both serve well in the Clone Wars with R2 - D2 arrogate to Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker . Since Obi - Wan and Anakin often fought together , Obi - Wan was friends with R2 - D2 as well . This means that although R2 - D2 might not have immediately recognizedObi - Wan on Tatooinedue to his age , Obi - Wan should have recognized the droid .

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This connection between Obi - Wan and R2 - D2 created a plot hole that has puzzled viewers for years . However , one theory argues that Obi - Wan did recognize R2 - D2 , but he chose to make not to in social club to avoid telling Luke the full Sojourner Truth . This would explain certain signs of familiarity between the Jedi and the droid and fit Obi - Wan ’s pattern of subtly lying to Luke .

According to one article ( viaLooper ) , Obi - Wan recognized R2 - D2 but simply decided not to tell Luke . When Luke asked Obi - Wan about his father , Obi - Wan state that Darth Vader killed Anakin , which afterwards turned out to be a symbolic verbal description forAnakin becoming Darth Vader . Similarly , Obi - Wan ’s manner toward R2 - D2 was another example of him “ talking around the true statement . ” When Obi - Wan claimed that he did n’t remember own   a droid , he was not lying . R2 - D2 was always assigned to Anakin , not Obi - Wan . If Obi - Wan did recognize R2 - D2 but did not need Luke to know , this would explicate why Obi - Wan call R2 - D2 his “ piffling friend ” while Luke was still unconscious . In addition , Obi - Wan remembering R2 - D2 would explain how he know the accurate way to make R2 - D2 wager Princess Leia ’s video again .

When Obi - Wan forgather with Luke inStar warfare : A New Hope , he could have told Luke about his family relationship with bothDarth Vader and Leia . However , Obi - Wan decided to keep both of these connections secret , believing Luke would be safe if he did not know about them . Most probably , this was Obi - Wan ’s motivation for not disclosing the truth about R2 - D2 as well . If Obi - Wan had admitted that he lie with R2 - D2 and that R2 - D2 had belonged to Anakin , Luke may have come out asking both of them more questions about his father . To prevent Luke from find out the full truth before he was ready , Obi - Wan decided to tell more half - truths and pretend he had not have it off R2 - D2 for years . While Obi - Wan ’s interactions with R2 - D2 seemed to make a plot jam inStar Wars : A New Hope , Obi - Wan select not to unveil his past kinship with R2 - D2 fit his pattern of behaviour and explained his familiarity with the droid .

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