Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Gives C-3PO a More Prominent Role

Star Wars franchise veteran Anthony Daniels says gold-plated protocol droid C-3PO is “front and center” in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

“I’m front and center in this one, for a lot of it, and that made me feel very happy and very excited. Because the stuff we do is magic, the inventiveness, superb,” Daniels told the Associated Press at D23 Expo. “And so, for me, and for Threepio, this is a very good bye-bye moment. Enjoy.”

While appearing at the bi-annual convention, where a fresh look at the film teased a mysteriously red-eyed Threepio, Daniels told Variety it was “difficult not to tear up a bit” when wrapping Rise of Skywalker.

“Partly because [director J.J. Abrams] said some really nice things and all the crew were listening and watching. I have to admit it was an emotional moment, but I knew it was coming,” Daniels said. “It wasn’t even a scene in which I said anything. For once, Threepio was in a scene without butting in. But I felt it’s such a terrific movie that I thought it was okay to say goodbye. I feel satisfied with this one. I have something to be proud of that, you know, as I say goodbye.”

Rise of Skywalker will send off classic characters when wrapping up the Skywalker Saga started with Daniels’ first film as the worrywart droid, 1977’s George Lucas-directed Star Wars, but Daniels’ newest class of co-stars — Daisy Ridley’s Rey, John Boyega’s Finn and Oscar Isaac’s Poe — could resurface elsewhere in the galaxy.

“We’re using this appropriate time as an opportunity to see where we’re going now that we’re leaving the Skywalker Saga behind,” Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy previously told MTV News. “But there’s no question that there’s certain characters that we’ve created certainly in the last three movies that we may very well wanna see down the line in the future.”

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker opens December 20.