Having portrayed the protocol droid C-3PO in all six Star Wars movies, as well as the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special and the animated shows Droids, Star Wars: Clone Wars, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, The Yoda Chronicles and the upcoming Star Wars Rebels, there was never any doubt about Anthony Daniels donning the gold suit once again in J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: Episode VII. With Daniels and his co-stars now deep into production on Episode VII, the British actor has spoken to Entertainment Weekly about reprising the role of Threepio once again for Disney’s eagerly-anticipated sequel.
“When [director] J.J. Abrams rang me to ask about filming Episode VII, one of the first things he said after he told me how wonderful I was — and that didn’t take long — but he then said, ‘Would you be interested in being in the film just doing the voice?’ I said, ‘No,’ and he said, ‘Right!’ He knew I’d say that. There’s no way I would just do the voice. I also said that it can’t be the same suit. I will tell you that the team then got together and built a new suit. They made an entirely new look-a-like with changes that you will never notice [on screen] that made my life a lot easier. I can get it on and off very quickly. [During the prequels], the only time [Threepio has] been CG was when it was very dangerous [to act in the scene in a suit] — and it wasn’t very good. In fact, I’m going to say it was awful. One of the difficulties is with a character that you know and love so well is that, as a member of the audience, you go, ‘Oh no, that’s not right. No, he doesn’t move like that.’ With me [in the suit], he’s always going to move the same way and have the same reactions, timing, and so on. With CG, you’re working with some brilliant person on the keyboard who is trying to pretend to be me. The only time that has worked without doubt is Disney’s Star Tours: The Adventures Continue [theme park ride]. There’s an element in the pre-show which is digital and I cannot tell it’s not me. It’s brilliantly done by Disney. In a cartoon series like Rebels, you accept it because it’s not trying to pretend to be reality. It’s an extension, it’s an exaggeration. On that basis, it’s utterly acceptable — providing the characterization is correct.”
Daniels then went on to discuss the new animated series Star Wars Rebels, which is set for a one-hour premiere on The Disney Channel next month, stating that: “It’s unique that it goes very specifically to a given period of time, which is just before the film that I happened to like the best — which is A New Hope, the first one. There are now three generations [of fans], which I know because of my work with Star Wars: In Concert where I could see in the audience terrifyingly young children and I thought, ‘They’re going to be a menace,’ and they sat there open-mouthed at the story that I was telling to them onstage with the orchestra. Now you can [ease] people into A New Hope. And you’ve seen I, II and III, there’s gaps there. What happened to these characters? We love them. We want to see what they did when they were not in the big films. Because George and everybody who’s followed on has created such a reality in the galaxy far, far away that we want to see more about it… It’s great, actually, that Rebels is set before Episode IV because that film is quintessential basic, This is ‘Star Wars.’ And you know George always used to say every time I arrived on set, I would always arrive for the first time back on set in costume, and during the prequels George would say when I arrived on set that ‘Star Wars has arrived’ — because I was the old fashioned link. Rebels is is an old fashion link to the old fashion film, which which we all loved. And you will love Episode VII — I have electrodes strapped to my head to zap me if I say anything more about it.”
Star Wars: Episode VII is set for release on December 18th 2015 and sees returning stars Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Harrison Ford (Han Solo), Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Kenny Baker (R2-D2) and Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca) joined by Adam Driver (Girls), Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis), Andy Serkis (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), Domhnall Gleeson (Dredd), John Boyega (Attack the Block), Daisy Ridley (Silent Witness), Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones), Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave), Miltos Yerolemou (Game of Thrones), Max von Sydow (The Exorcist), Christina Chong (24: Live Another Day) and newcomers Crystal Clarke and Pip Andersen.
Originally published September 18, 2014. Updated April 13, 2018.
