The Mandalorian: Did IG-11 prove that droids are alive?

Droids in the Star Wars universe have been relegated to the roles of autonomous mechanisms, but we’re starting to believe there may be to them. The Mandalorian’s IG-11 is a perfect example to look into.

Warning! Spoilers for The Mandalorian season 1 ahead.

Before everyone starts pointing out that automatons and robots in the Star Wars universe can replicate human-like behavior to fit specific functions, a few droids have given us reason to believe there’s more underneath the hood. IG-11 (Taika Waititi), for instance, sacrificed itself to save Mando and The Child during the season finale of The Mandalorian. It was an action no one saw coming.

Toward the conclusion of season 1, Kuill’s reprogrammed droid returns to help Mando (Pedro Pascal), Kara Dune (Gina Carano), and Greef (Carl Weathers) escape from the battalion of troopers surrounding them. IG locates a tunnel to the underground and also provides medical assistance to Mando after he’d suffered a blast to the head. But before he can aid Mando, the helmet issue comes up.

As we’ve come to know, devout Mandalorians cannot remove their helmets in the company of others. To be more precise, they’re not allowed to remove the apparel in front of any living beings. Mando even objects to removing the helmet in front of IG, that is before the droid reminds him of the text.

IG-11 cleverly dissects the Mandalorian creed about not removing one’s helmet, pointing out that the literal meaning doesn’t apply to droids since they’re not living souls. The droid recognizes that its system of programming does not equate to a living consciousness so Mando can take his helmet off without breaking any rules.

Are droids in the Star Wars universe living beings?

The biggest takeaway from their exchange should be that droids aren’t alive, but perhaps it’s exactly the opposite. IG-11 considers the repercussions of not adhering to the Mandalorian code before taking matters into its own hands when the droid could’ve easily removed Mando’s helmet and applied the necessary aid. But instead, it diffuses the situation first. IG’s actions could be attributed to artificial intelligence, of course, but the ability to prioritize so efficiently in such a complex scenario is questionable.

Generally speaking, a droid with autonomous functions should provide medical care without even consulting the patient. They don’t need to adhere to any sort of customs; they’re droids. But since IG-11 took the time to persuade Mando — to make him more comfortable about removing his helmet — its actions suggest the droid possesses a consciousness that can’t be boiled down to programming and artificial intelligence.

For more evidence to back up our theory, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker featured a droid who blurred the lines, C-3PO. The longtime droid has always been charismatic and full of energy, but one particular scene gave us the impression that C-3PO has a consciousness of his own.

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At about the midway point of TROS, the team of adventurers comprised of Rey, Poe, Finn, and Chewbacca discovers a piece of Sith text that’ll help them locate the Sith homeworld known as Exegol. But to translate the text, they need to use C-3PO in a process which will erase his memory afterward. The Skywalker droid agrees to help them, but before he allows the translation to be done, C-3PO takes a moment to reminisce. When he does, Poe (Oscar Isaac) asks what C-3PO is doing. He then replies that he’s taking one last look at his friends.

What’s intriguing about C-3PO’s response is that he understands his memories will be erased, and yet, he still wants to capture one precious memory before the job is done. This tells us that something within C-3PO motivates the droid to live a full life. Is it a consciousness that drives him?

Another example worth pointing out is Rogue One’s K-2SO. It possessed a very unique personality that came into existence after Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) reprogrammed him, and the resulting personality could be just another part of K-2’s new interface. However, after seeing IG-11 and C-3PO craft multi-layered personalities for themselves, it’s not preposterous to think that each are living machines in their own right.

The question now is what does having a consciousness mean for every other droid in the Star Wars universe. Should they be recognized as individuals, and more importantly, do they have rights? There’s definitely a class system in place that would situate them, though droids are generally thrown away like scrap metal so certain aspects need to change.

What are your thoughts on IG-11 and droids in general? Let us know in the comments.