A story called “The First Lesson”, written by Jim Zub, explains that Yoda did in fact recognise the droid, but chose to remain silent. “Carefully moving through the swamp while staying beneath the fog, Yoda soon spotted the boy and his droid unpacking their supplies,” reads the passage.
R2 is present when Luke Skywalker arrives on Moff Gideon's Star Destroyer and is clearly happy to see little Grogu. We have seen R2 meet numerous new characters over the years, but this is clearly R2 responding to Grogu with recognition.
Since Obi-Wan and Anakin often fought together, Obi-Wan was friends with R2-D2 as well. This means that although R2-D2 might not have immediately recognized Obi-Wan on Tatooine due to his age, Obi-Wan should have recognized the droid.
Darth Vader acts like he doesn't even know C-3PO or R2D2. They were with him since he was a child. He did everything he could to forget his past. Also, his plating had been replaced many times, and protocol droids all look very similar.
Why Yoda Didn't Remember R2-D2 (CANON) - Star Wars Explained
Did R2-D2 know Vader was Anakin?
R2-D2 was present when Padmé gave birth to Leia and Luke, so he knew Luke was Anakin's son – but what he didn't know was that Anakin became Darth Vader. In addition to that, Anakin's fall was surely a painful event in R2-D2's life, one that he definitely wouldn't like to remember or even talk about.
The droids then escape in a pod that crashes on Tatooine near Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi's (Alec Guinness) desert abode. R2-D2 and C-3PO are then abducted by Jawas and bought by Owen (Phil Brown) and Beru Lars (Shelagh Fraser), uncle and aunt of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill).
So cute, so interesting, so compelling. So familiar and yet so new." Favreau has clarified that Grogu is not a younger version of Yoda himself, but has declined to comment upon whether he is related to Yoda or otherwise connected to him.
When Order 66 happens in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, R2-D2 is confirmed to be on Coruscant. The movie doesn't show him during the actual executions of the Jedi, but he is shown to be on Anakin Skywalker's ship when he arrives at Padmé Amidala's house immediately after.
In the Star Wars universe, Grogu belongs to the same mysterious and unnamed species as the iconic character Yoda. The reason Grogu is believed to be a member of the Yoda species is mainly due to his physical appearance and his connection to the Force.
But only a few of the human characters in Star Wars can understand droids; Luke Skywalker wasn't the only one. Obi-Wan Kenobi was another human who could speak Binary, as well as Anakin, who shared the strongest relationship with R2-D2, as seen in the prequel trilogy and Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
However, the same could not be said for R2-D2, who never had his memories erased. While there isn't a canonical reason for this decision, the likely explanation may have been that Threepio was more likely to say something he shouldn't have.
After the Clone Wars, however, Brooks Propulsion Devices, the company responsible for the development of his boosters, was shut down, and his rocket boosters were eventually damaged and thus could not be repaired. Despite this, however, R2 hardly regretted the loss of his ability to fly.
secondly, in Legends, R2 was given programming that actually restricted him. from sharing any information with Luke or Leia. about their parents or relation to one another. this was all part of the plan. to conceal this information from the twins.
He was also evasive with Luke as far as his relationship with Luke's father. C3PO was clearly created from some sort of kit or existing prototype since every protocol droid aside from coloring looks the same. He didn't recognize him because again, they all look the same & it was decades until he saw him again.
As has been noted in several instances, Artoo has never had a full memory wipe, enabling him to retain his recollections of everything he saw and heard over the decades. This includes his first meeting with Padme Amidala, a nine-year-old Anakin Skywalker, and C-3PO himself during the events of The Phantom Menace.
As revealed in the Star Wars prequels and other canon materials, Yoda and R2-D2 were heavily involved with the Republic's efforts to win the Clone Wars, and they even crossed paths on some occasions (most notably Luke and Leia's birth).
A smart, spunky droid who would serve a multitude of masters over his lifetime, R2-D2 was never given a full memory wipe nor did he ever receive new programming, with these factors resulting in an adventurous and independent attitude.
