This is the droid you’re looking for

R2-D2 centrepiece at Star Wars auction

BOSTON — Die-hard Star Wars fans will need to rely on more than the force if they want to bid on an R2-D2 droid from several of the franchise’s movies.

A couple of million dollars might also help.

Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber, Darth Vader’s helmet and shoulder armour, as well as imperial and rebel weapons are on the block, but the centrepiece is no doubt the squat blue, white and silver droid famous for communicating in a series of electronic beeps and squeaks.

Representing “the pinnacle of the Star Wars collecting universe,” it could fetch up to $2 million in the June 26-28 sale, according to Calabasas, California-based auction house Profiles in History. The bidding is being handled by Boston-based online auction marketplace Invaluable.

Nothing like a complete R2 unit has ever been sold at auction before, said Stephanie Connell, a London-based movie memorabilia consultant not involved in the sale.

“This is not just a normal movie prop,” she said. “This is instantly recognizable, the crème de la crème of movie props.”

Connell wracked her mind, but said she could not recall any single piece of Star Wars memorabilia ever selling for anywhere close to $2 million.

The 43-inch tall R2 unit for sale is sort of a Frankenstein’s monster of droids, pieced together over several years from different original components used in the first five Star Wars movies. There is no other known complete original R2 unit in the public domain, according to the auction house.

For the sequels after the original Star Wars: A New Hope in 1977, production designers took the aluminum, steel and fibreglass R2 units, retired old and worn-out parts and added new features to save time and meet production deadlines.

Fans outbid for the droid may want to take a shot at landing the lightsabre. Carried by actor Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker in the first two Star Wars movies, it is expected to sell for anywhere from $150,000 to $250,000.

Unfortunately, the prop does not emit a blade of blue light.

The lightsabre comes from the archive of Gary Kurtz, producer of Star Wars: A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, and is accompanied with a letter of authenticity signed by Kurtz.