D-O was a data storage and retrieval droid that was once owned by the Sith assassin Ochi of Bestoon. The droid was created by a droidsmith, who was killed by Ochi. The droid was reactivated by BB-8 in 35 ABY, on Pasaana, and later brought along to Kijimi, where he was further repaired by Rey. An excitable little droid, D-O befriended the Resistance droid, and wanted to be just like his droid friend.
D-O spoke a less complex form of droid binary that was easier for non-droids to understand than most droid speech and was capable of speaking in Basic, though it was rather limited and often times garbled, with a noticeable stutter.
D-O was a droid, who at sometime during or prior to 21 ABY, was constructed by a droidsmith. However, D-O's creator perished at the hands of the Sith assassin Ochi of Bestoon, who after killing the droidsmith, took D-O for himself. D-O was kept aboard Ochi's ship, the Bestoon Legacy. During his time in service of Ochi, D-O gained an abundance of files and data on the Sith world of Exegol in the Unknown Regions, and the mysterious Sith Eternal, the group that Ochi served. D-O was also treated poorly by his master.
On a mission to Pasaana, Ochi, while being tracked by Jedi Luke Skywalker and General Lando Calrissian, became trapped in quicksand, and perished, leaving his ship abandoned in the desert, with D-O deactivated aboard.
Years later, in 35 ABY, a team consisting of the Jedi Rey, a former First Order stormtrooper Finn, the pilot Poe Dameron, the droids BB-8 and C-3PO and the Wookiee Chewbacca journeyed to Pasaana, following the trail left by Luke from his search for a Sith wayfinder, an object the Resistance now needed to prevent the grand plan of Darth Sidious and the Sith Eternal from reaching fruition, who had been secretly amassing a massive fleet of Xyston-class Star Destroyers, the Final Order, on Exegol, which required a wayfinder to locate, as the way to the Sith world was treacherous and uncharted. While exploring Ochi's derelict ship, BB-8 stumbled across the deactivated D-O, left alone and covered in dust. BB-8 promptly reactivated the little droid, who expressed his gratitude at being returned to life. However, when Rey reached out to touch him, the little droid backed away, not wanting to be touched, leading the Jedi to reach the conclusion that the previous owner, Ochi, had treated him badly. Rey convinced the droid it was alright, and he was now with them.
D-O joined his new friends on a trip to Kijimi, seeking the droidsmith Babu Frik to allow C-3PO to read an inscription written on Ochi's dagger, which was kept in the droids memory. While on Kijimi, Rey learned Chewbacca was alive, and alongside Poe, Finn and BB-8 D-O traveled to the Resurgent-class Star Destroyer Steadfast. While they got separated, leading to the capture of Finn and Poe, who had just freed Chewbacca, they were saved by General Armitage Hux, who had betrayed the First Order. D-O alerted Threepio that their friends were ahead, and boarded the Millennium Falcon alongside them, with Hux staying behind.
Rey Skywalker
Following their escape from the Steadfast, the Falcon endured a rough landing on Kef Bir, the location of the wayfinder as written on the dagger. It led to the ruins of second Death Star. D-O, curious asked what the wreck was, with Rey telling him it was the Death Star, ruins from an old war. After locating where the wayfinder was in the ruins by using the dagger, they were interrupted by the arrival of Company 77, who wanted by to know what business the Resistance had on their moon. D-O curiously investigated the orbaks, but was frightened by them. After Rey left the others behind, D-O stated that he missed her. Finn asked the droid his name, but then learned that D-O had a lot of information on Exegol, which was Ochi's intended destination before his death.
The information kept by D-O, crossed with a live transmission sent by Rey piloting Luke Skywalker's T-65B X-wing Red Five, allowed the Resistance to locate Exegol and the Sith fleet, giving them a fighting chance at stopping the destruction that could be wrought. After a hard fought battle, and the arrival of the Citizens' Fleet, the Sith Eternal was defeated, and the Emperor vanquished once and done for all. D-O joined the celebrations with his new friends, never again to be a slave to evil.
D-O appeared in the 2019 film Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker, the final installment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, where he was voiced by director J.J. Abrams and puppeteered by Robin Guiver and Lynn Robertson Bruce. The droid made its debut at the Episode IX panel during Celebration Chicago. Lucasfilm Ltd. sound editor Matthew Wood took over the voice role in the 2020 animated movie The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special.
The droid was partially inspired by ducklings. Another visual reference was the comic Spy vs. Spy. In terms of personality, D-O was based on Terrio's dog George, whom Terrio had rescued from an abusive owner. Originally, Abrams' voice was supposed to be temporary, but screenwriter Chris Terrio watched a few cuts with Abrams' voice as D-O and felt that the anxious politeness in Abrams' performance was perfect for the droid. Other actors were considered, but Terrio convinced the director to keep the voice.
Prior to Episode IX's release, Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition stated that D-O was created by Babu Frik; however, the film itself revealed that was not the case. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: The Visual Dictionary, a reference book accompanying the film, revealed that D-O was created by an unnamed droidsmith who was killed by Ochi. D-O belonging to Babu Frik was from an early version of the script, where BB-8 would repair the broken D-O in Frik's workshop, and the droid would imprint on BB-8.
- The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special
- LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga