Why doesn R2-D2 use his rocket boosters in the OT?
With the help of the wizards at ILM, R2-D2 flies across the Genosian droid foundry with his rocket boosters. This feature is never seen in the OT. Shortly after the release of AOTC, HoloNet News released a simple explanation for this: the warranty on Industrial Automaton astromech rocket boosters only lasts twenty years. ANH is twenty-two years post-AOTC. Artoo can’t fly in the OT – his hover rocket warranty expired! Additionally, according to The New Essential Guide to Characters, Artoo and Threepio went through several different owners between the PT and the OT. One of these owners may have replaced the rocket boosters, which might have been useless without the warranty anyway, with other accessories.
