‘Star Wars: Episode 7′ — Will R2-D2 and C3-PO Return?
It's hard to imagine the 'Star Wars' saga without the lovable droids R2-D2 and C3-PO. After all, these two robots are (rather ironically) the most instantly relatable characters in the entire franchise and provide a clean entry point for audiences. So they're coming for 'Star Wars: Episode 7,' right? Right? A new interview with C3-PO actor Anthony Daniels sheds a little light on the situation ...
... But not too much. You see, Mr. Daniels is apparently an expert at answering questions without actually answering the question. In an interview with Bleeding Cool, the iconic actor was directly asked about his involvement in J.J. Abrams' 'Star Wars: Episode 7,' and he did a humorous and masterful job of deflecting the question, saying that you really should ask series producer Kathleen Kennedy at the upcoming Star Wars Celebration instead:
What I always say to that is, “Wait and see.” Let’s keep the suspense going. One of the people at Celebration will be Kathy Kennedy, the most loved person. She comes to Lucasfilm with an astounding history of film production, and she’s also a nice person. A rare thing in a film producer, one feels. She’s hyper-intelligent, kind, clever, all of those things. And very, very rich. So … I’m sure she’s a lady of discretion and taste who will listen to you. I want you to find her at Celebration and say, “I was talking to Anthony the other day, and you realize 'Star Wars' wouldn’t be the same without him.” Then see what she says. She’d probably have you arrested.
Daniels goes on to discuss why he won't comment on the status of the film, saying that it's in his best professional interest to not discuss things that are in the works. In other words, he sounds like the perfect collaborator for the secrecy-loving Abrams:
I’d rather not comment. You will recall I’ve always had a rather discreet attitude, or a professional sense of discretion. I don’t blab things about the script. I think that would be very unprofessional, or childish. Let the films, stories and so on unroll as they should, when the audience first sees them … or, strangely, when they buy the tie-in novel some months before the film comes out.
If you do want to speculate, there are two things you can take from this: either Daniels has been approached, knows what's going on and is under orders to keep his mouth shut, or he's still not sure what's going on with C3-PO and wants to keep mum and not risk angering the 'Star Wars' gods at Lucasfilm. In any case, it's hard to imagine C3-PO (and R2-D2) not coming back. After all, if they could shoehorn them into the prequels, it should be easy to work them into the sequels.
'Star Wars: Episode 7' is still scheduled to arrive in the summer of 2015.