Anthony Daniels Teases That He Will Be Making a Return To 'Star Wars'
One of Star Wars fans' favorite characters (and actors!) is reportedly coming back to the screen. Anthony Daniels, who has played C-3PO since Star Wars: A New Hope, has revealed that he’s returning to the Star Wars universe for a currently unnamed project.
Anthony Daniels is unique in the Star Wars universe in that he is the only actor to be directly in every single live action Star Wars films, which includes as C-3PO in all the original, prequel, and sequel trilogy films, along with a brief appearance in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. But Anthony Daniels doesn’t just appear as C-3PO in the live action films. He was also a human slave in the mines of Kessel in Solo: A Star Wars Story. So, he really has been in every single live action Star Wars story to date. And now, it seems like he will be involved in yet another project!
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C-3PO’s design was something that most science fiction fans had never seen before. However, he wasn’t an entirely new robot or droid design. In fact, the late Ralph McQuarrie, who designed C-3PO, based him closely on the robot Maschinenmensch, from one of the first science fiction films: the 1927 German film Metropolis. Bringing a pioneer science fiction film character design into a science fiction film that was unique and fun was ingenious, made even more so by how popular and influential Star Wars became. It is a nice nod to the beginning of the genre in film even though McQuarrie probably did not think that Star Wars was going to have the influence that it does today.
In casting C-3PO, George Lucas had originally wanted C-3PO to have an American accent and was heavily considering Mel Blanc or another legendary American actor to play the part, but when Anthony Daniels tested for the role, Lucas changed his mind. And he made the right choice. Not only is C-3PO and Daniels’ voice and mannerisms iconic, but Daniels also has come back time and time again to bring his very loved character to screen including through documentaries, video games, TV specials (like The Muppets), and the animated series The Clone Wars, Star Wars: Rebels, and Star Wars: Resistance. Anthony Daniels’ C-3PO has become one of the staple characters of the Star Wars universe.
Recently, Anthony Daniels posted on his Instagram, @anthonydanielsofficial, a photo of him in full motion-capture gear. He captioned the behind the scenes photo with this:
“Finally, a new suit - that fits! #mocap #ealingstudios #c3po#iamc3po #starwars”
In the caption, he also tagged Ealing Studios, which is a London based film studio. Daniels looks extremely happy to be back playing the role, but also leaves many fans speculating as to what he might be appearing in. The full post can be seen here.
With Disney+ and Lucasfilm having several projects in the works, C-3PO could be making an appearance in virtually any one of them since most of the announced Disney+ series do take place within the timeline of the main saga stories and with the same characters that C-3PO was around at some point. Now, how long of a role this will be is another question. Will C-3PO be appearing for several episodes or a whole movie? Or will it be for just a short cameo scene?
Fans have predicted that his appearance could most likely be attached to one or more of these upcoming Disney+ Star Wars series: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor, Ahsoka, or The Mandalorian Season 3. All of which are feasible for the character of C-3PO to show up in.
Another theory from fans is that Anthony Daniels is involved in making another Star Wars video game since there are quite a few that have been announced as well. This theory has come about due to the motion-capture suit that Daniels is wearing when fans have argued that normally C-3PO is in his actual suit for filming and it is not CGI. Daniels has worn the actual suit for every single episode of the Skywalker Saga except for The Phantom Menace, when Daniels did not have to wear the C-3PO physical suit due to C-3PO's early stage of construction.
One other option is one previously announced Disney+ series that we haven’t heard as much about, but is still rumored to be in the works; Star Wars: A Droid Story. It was first announced in December of 2020 with a tagline indicating that it will introduce audiences “to a new hero, guided by legendary duo R2-D2 and C-3PO”, but not much has really been said about the series since. It is said to be the Disney Animation team coming together with the visual effects team at Industrial Light and Magic to open up new and unique doors of storytelling and opportunities with technology and special effects.
So whether or not Anthony Daniels is working on one of the many Disney+ series, a new movie, video game, or something yet to be announced, he looks insanely happy to be back playing C-3PO and, judging by his comment about the suit fitting, happy to not be in the metal C-3PO suit. The motion-capture suit certainly looks more comfortable.
Many questions remain after this reveal, and hopefully fans will learn something new about what Anthony Daniels is working on soon.
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Source(s): Screen Rant