With the Skywalker Saga taking place over 67 years, it's a miracle that both R2-D2 and C-3PO survived the entire time. They're the only characters to feature in each of the numbered Star Wars movies, meaning they lived through three galaxy-wide conflicts and countless battles. However, there was a time when the droids lives were far more peaceful -- long before Star Wars: Episode I -The Phantom Menace.
R2-D2 and C-3PO have such distinct personalities that it is difficult to imagine them as mindless droids on an assembly line. But for a long time that's what they were, just one of the millions of droids produced every year and designed to serve a single purpose. The droid business was one of the most lucrative in the galaxy, as droids were advertised and sold like any other product, and this meant R2-D2 and C-3PO had original owners before they ever met Anakin and Padmé.
C-3PO Once Served an Important Role
The iconic protocol droid was built by Cybot Galactica, a droid manufacturing company with an extensive catalog. Many of the droids captured by Jawas in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope came from this company, but the protocol droid was the only one designed for translation and etiquette. C-3PO, however, claims his "first job was programming binary loadlifters," when being sold to Uncle Owen.
At some point, C-3PO received quite the promotion, as he ended up finding an important role in a large planetary system. During Star Wars: The Clone Wars, he mentions twice that he "was once protocol droid to the chief negotiator for the entire Manakron system." And while little is known about Manakron, it's safe to assume C-3PO was key for their interplanetary relations. Although, clearly things went wrong along the way, as he ended up as nothing more than a heap of scrap on Tatooine for Anakin to find.
R2-D2 Was Key to a Ship's Survival
C-3PO's loyal companion was an R2 series astromech -- one of the most popular brands of droids in the entire galaxy. Created by Industrial Automation, this manufacturer created many of the most iconic machines in Star Wars, including Luke Skywalker's medical droid and the goofy-looking gonk droids. But as for R2-D2 himself, he specialized in handling repairs out in the vacuum of space.
Unlike C-3PO, little about R2-D2's previous life is known. In old Star Wars canon, he was purchased by the Royal Engineers of Naboo, who made after-market additions to the droid before shipping him out into space. But there's been no mention of R2's past life in the current canon. All that's known is that he ended up on Queen Amidala's starship and saved the crew during The Phantom Menace.
Compared to many other Star Wars characters, the iconic droid duo has received relatively little backstory. Yet that's been more than made up for with their longevity, as they're a key part of the tale from the start to the very end -- and few characters have had as large an impact on the galaxy as R2-D2 and C-3PO.