On Instagram recently, Anthony Daniels posted a picture of himself dressed in a motion capture suit, making it clear with the hashtags that it’s for his role of C-3PO.
There is no mention there about which project it’s for, only confirming that it is as 3PO – alongside a joke about finally having a suit that fits, as he’s been notorious for complaining about how tight and uncomfortable his suit has been over the years, especially early on. Daniels has played C-3PO in virtually every single appearance for the character, across films (as the only actor to appear in every Star Wars movie), shows, games, and more.
So it’s hardly a surprise that he’s returning to the role again, but it’s notable that this one is through motion capture. That would seem to rule out an appearance in one of the many live-action series in development, as even though he might appear in one of them, that would be him donning the suit rather than mo-cap. And while it’s possible it could be for a traditionally animated project, him doing mo-cap for that would be a bit odd, especially considering the fact that 3PO isn’t going to be doing elaborate action sequences (like the Ahsoka vs. Maul fight in The Clone Wars, which was aided by motion capture). So what might this be for?
My guess is that this mystery project is actually A Droid Story, which was announced alongside tons of other Star Wars projects at the Disney Investor Day in December 2020. It is an adventure film being created for Disney+ and is being developed by Lucasfilm Animation in collaboration with the team at Industrial Light & Magic, meaning that this film is “the intersection of animation and visual effects.” We don’t know much about the story itself, but do know that it will introduce us to a new hero who is guided through this adventure by R2-D2 and C-3PO. So those two iconic droids will have a really significant role in this project, and given the fact that it’s being made by both Lucasfilm Animation and ILM would explain why Anthony Daniels is doing motion capture for it. Regardless, we’ll be seeing C-3PO again soon!
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