Just like Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher, actor Anthony Daniels is an incredibly important part of the Star Wars legacy. He's just slightly handicapped by the fact that you can't see his face under the C-3PO helmet. He and Kenny Baker, the man inside R2-D2, are the only actors to be part of every single film, so when Star Wars: Episode VII started to move into active development, it made perfect sense that they would return. The big question that was raised, however, was whether Daniels would once again be inside his C-3PO costume, as he always has been in the movies, or would instead be opting to use motion capture or simply provide his voice. According to the actor, it was never actually a choice.
In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Anthony Daniels opened up about the process that led to him being cast in Star Wars: Episode VII - and in doing so revealed the two qualifications regarding the presentation of C-3PO that he demanded of the project in exchange for his performance. Daniels told the story of a conversation he had with director J.J. Abrams in the early stages in which the subject of the actor's performance came up. The filmmaker asked him if he had any interest in doing C-3PO as just a voice, and he refused. Said Daniels, "There’s no way I would just do the voice."
But while Daniels was committing to once again wear the C-3PO costume, the other big request that he had was in regard to the design itself: he wanted it to change. While it sounds like none of the alterations have been made to the character aesthetically - meaning he will look just like the classic version - instead they were made to the interior of the suit and how it fit on the actor. He added,
"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."
Star Wars: Episode VII will feature all of the legacy actors mentioned above - plus Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca - in addition to newcomers John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Lupita Nyong'o, Crystal Clarke, Pip Anderson, Christina Chong, Gwendoline Christie and Max von Sydow. The movie is still in production, and it will probably still be a long time before we get to see any footage from the film (it's still 15 months fron release), at least we keep getting cool tidbits like this that keep are excitement at the highest level.
