When Grant Imahara passed away in 2020, the world mourned the loss of a brilliant MythBusters engineer. But before he became a TV personality, Grant spent nearly a decade at Industrial Light & Magic, living every Star Wars fan’s dream—he literally brought R2-D2 to life.
His contributions to the galaxy far, far away went beyond what most people realize, from secret cameos to permanent honors within the Star Wars universe. Here are five incredible Star Wars secrets about Grant Imahara that even die-hard fans might not know.
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1. He Was One of the Main Engineers Behind R2-D2 in the Prequels
Every Star Wars fan adores R2-D2, but what many don’t realize is just how instrumental MythBusters’ Grant Imahara was in bringing the iconic droid to life during the prequel trilogy. According to Don Bies, the droid supervisor on the prequels, Grant was one of just three official R2-D2 operators, alongside Bies himself and Nelson Hall.
When filming Episode I, the original R2 units were experiencing technical problems, prompting the production team at Lucasfilm to bring in experts from Industrial Light & Magic (ILM). Grant was part of the select team tasked with creating a more reliable, technically advanced R2 unit from scratch.
For Episode II, the team recognized the entire fleet of twelve R2-D2 units needed significant upgrades. Grant took charge of completely overhauling their internal electronics, dramatically improving their motors, wiring, controllers, and power management systems. Nelson Hall simultaneously handled the exterior cosmetic repairs, including repainting the famous “R2 Blue.” These enhancements ensured that R2-D2 behaved reliably and expressed his iconic personality perfectly on-screen.
In short, whenever R2-D2 whistled, beeped, or spun his head during the prequels, fans were seeing the results of Grant Imahara’s dedicated behind-the-scenes work.
2. Grant Spent Months Creating a Fully Animatronic Baby Yoda for a Wonderful Cause
In the months before his untimely passing in 2020, Grant Imahara embarked on one of his most heartwarming and technically impressive projects yet: a fully animatronic Baby Yoda (Grogu) from The Mandalorian. Completely on his own initiative and using his personal time, Grant spent three meticulous months designing, programming, and carefully 3D printing every component of this remarkably lifelike Grogu. Announcing his project on Twitter, Grant wrote,
“Pleased to present my newest creation: a fully animatronic Baby Yoda. Special thx to @SaltiestHime for silicone skin/paint/hair, @thelindsayjane for the coat and Project 842 for the digital model. Touring children’s hospitals starting in April!”
Pleased to present my newest creation: a fully animatronic Baby Yoda. Special thx to @SaltiestHime for silicone skin/paint/hair, @thelindsayjane for the coat and Project 842 for the digital model. Touring children’s hospitals starting in April! #BabyYoda #TheMandalorian #Starwars pic.twitter.com/XsDqGtEHt6
— Grant Imahara (@grantimahara) March 6, 2020
But this wasn’t just a passion project to showcase his immense engineering skills—Grant intended for his creation to serve a much greater purpose. He planned to bring joy and comfort to sick children in hospitals, sharing with them the magic of Star Wars in a truly meaningful way. While Grant sadly never got the opportunity to fulfill that dream, the project itself perfectly captures his kind-hearted spirit, immense talent, and deep love for the Star Wars universe.
3. Grant Helped Build Epic Star Wars Miniatures at ILM
One of the coolest parts about Grant Imahara’s time at ILM is how hands-on he was with the iconic miniatures used in the Star Wars prequels. While most people remember him for his work on R2-D2, he also helped build some of the franchise’s most detailed and important models.
In The Phantom Menace, Grant was part of the team that constructed and painted the massive Trade Federation battleship miniature, the same one you see hovering over Naboo in the opening scenes. There’s even a behind-the-scenes photo of him working on it alongside fellow ILM model maker Tory Belleci. But it didn’t stop there.
Credit: Industrial Light & Magic
Credit: Industrial Light & Magic
When Attack of the Clones came around, ILM went all in on miniatures for Coruscant’s sprawling cityscape, and Grant contributed to bringing those intricate skylines to life. Those layered buildings, endless traffic lanes, and glowing towers? A good chunk of that was handcrafted, and Grant had a direct hand in making sure it looked like a living, breathing city-planet. His ability to switch between animatronics and massive set miniatures just shows how versatile he really was.
Credit: Industrial Light & Magic