Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Actor Anthony Daniels Saddened C-3PO’s Role Was Trimmed Down

Star Wars veteran Anthony Daniels was a “little sad” C-3PO‘s role in the lengthy Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was trimmed down, including his “sweeter and broader” relationship with hotshot Resistance pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac). In Skywalker, the protocol droid fluent in over six million forms of communication played a key role when he joined Poe, Finn (John Boyega) and Rey (Daisy Ridley) on a mission to locate a Sith wayfinder needed to guide the heroes to the remote planet of Exegol, home world of the Sith and the site where the returned Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) plotted the rise of his New Empire.

“I just was so thrilled that J.J. [Abrams, writer-director] and [co-writer Chris Terrio] finally came up with something worthwhile, and including that crazy thing, ‘I am not permitted to translate a Sith artifact,’” Daniels told IGN. “What a wonderful reversal.”

Because the chatty translator’s programming prohibited him from disclosing the translation contained on a Sith dagger discovered on the desert planet of Pasaana, droidsmith Babu Frik (Shirley Henderson) was called on to bypass this programming at the cost of C-3PO’s memories (later restored by longtime sidekick R2-D2).

Asked if he approached C-3PO’s farewell to his friends as his own goodbye to Star Wars after 42 years, Daniels said, “Oh, very much so.”

“You also have to realize that there’s an awfully lot of editing after you’ve finished filming, so C-3PO’s role was even sweeter and broader than that. But some of those niceties have to go because there’s so much in that film already, it’s almost two films in one, as you know,” he said. “So I was a little sad about that, particularly his relationship with Poe, played by the wonderful Oscar Isaac. That was just so sweet and so funny, because Poe was always kind of irritated by C-3PO, but in a nice way. And working with Oscar, I just would giggle through scenes with him because he’s just so sweet and natural.”

Daniels was “moved” by what C-3PO believed were his last words to the Resistance heroes, a scene Abrams previously revealed was “very emotional” for the actor.

“That line, ‘Taking one last look, sir, at my friends,’ even on the set, I was moved by that line. Even though I knew we were basically talking about a mind wipe, rather than death,” Daniels said. “And then when I saw it in trailers, I was like, ‘Whoa.’”

After appearing in all nine episodes of the Star Wars saga, Daniels expects the franchise to move on from C-3PO.

The Rise of Skywalker is “probably the last — I mean, what do I know, I’m just a hired hand — the last [time C-3PO appears] in a big movie, like Skywalker, because we know that’s done. And quite rightly it should end,” Daniels said. “Let’s start another story with other characters in fresh parts of the galaxy. There’s plenty of galaxy yet to be explored. Who knows where various other writers and producers will take you, possibly without Threepio.”

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is now available to own on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray.