C-3PO

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C-3PO
Star Wars character
First appearanceStar Wars (1977)
Created byGeorge Lucas
Portrayed byAnthony Daniels
Voiced by
Performed byMichael Lynch
In-universe information
OccupationProtocol droid
Affiliation
CreatorAnakin Skywalker

C-3PO (/ˌsiːˈθriːpioʊ/) or See-Threepio [a] is a humanoid robot character in the Star Wars franchise. He is a protocol droid designed to assist in etiquette and translation, and is fluent in over six million forms of communication.[2][3] Created by George Lucas, the character appears in all nine films of the Skywalker Saga—which includes the original trilogy, the prequel trilogy and the sequel trilogy. Anthony Daniels portrays C-3PO in all the Skywalker Saga films and the standalone film Rogue One. Daniels also voices the character in the animated film The Clone Wars.[4][5] In addition to the films, C-3PO appears in television series, novels, comics, and video games.

Biography[edit]

As a young boy, Anakin Skywalker constructed C-3PO to assist his mother, Shmi, on their home planet of Tatooine. When Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Padmé Amidala encountered Anakin while stranded on the planet, C-3PO met R2-D2, an astromech droid owned by Padmé. The two droids swiftly became friends, but Anakin soon left Tatooine and took R2-D2 with him.[6] A decade later, Anakin returned to his homeworld when he sensed that his mother was in danger. She had been abducted by Tusken Raiders, and Anakin arrived too late to prevent her death. After slaughtering many Tuskens, Anakin once again departed Tatooine, this time bringing C-3PO with him. The protocol droid was reunited with R2-D2, who was traveling with Anakin.

The trio soon found themselves in the midst of the Battle of Geonosis, during which C-3PO's head was temporarily exchanged with the head of a battle droid. During the ensuing Clone Wars, C-3PO served Padmé, who had become a Galactic Senator after her reign as Queen of Naboo ended. After the Clone Wars, C-3PO and R2-D2 were transferred to the service of Captain Raymus Antilles, and C-3PO's memory was erased. By this time, the Galactic Republic had crumbled and been replaced by the Galactic Empire, and C-3PO's creator Anakin had become the cyborg Darth Vader.[7][8][9]

Almost twenty years later, the two droids were traveling with the Rebel Alliance leader Princess Leia on Captain Antilles's ship. Imperial troops boarded the spacecraft, and Leia jettisoned an escape pod with C-3PO and R2-D2 inside. They landed on Tatooine, and were quickly captured by Jawa scavengers. A moisture farmer named Owen Lars purchased the droids from the Jawas, and C-3PO and R2-D2 subsequently met Lars's adopted nephew, Luke Skywalker. The droids followed Luke—who was Anakin's son—on a journey that eventually led them back to Leia, who was being held captive on the Empire's Death Star space station. Along with their companions Han Solo, Chewbacca and Obi-Wan Kenobi, the droids rescued Leia and returned her safely to the Rebel base on Yavin 4. From there, the Rebels launched an assault that destroyed the Death Star.[7][10]

Several years later, C-3PO arrived in Cloud City with Han, Leia and Chewbacca. The droid was blown apart by a stormtrooper, but was reassembled by Chewbacca and R2-D2. Han was frozen in carbonite by Vader, and the bounty hunter Boba Fett took him to Tatooine. After Fett sold Han to the crime lord Jabba the Hutt, Luke sent C-3PO and R2-D2 to Jabba's palace. Luke was hoping to bargain for Han's freedom, and he offered the droids to Jabba as a goodwill gift. C-3PO acted as an interpreter for Jabba until Luke arrived. With the help of Leia, Chewbacca, R2-D2 and Lando Calrissian, Luke successfully liberated Han and the group escaped.[7][11]

C-3PO and his friends continued to struggle with the Rebels against the Empire. On the forest moon of Endor, they encountered a tribe of Ewoks, who believed the golden droid was a deity. With C-3PO's help, the group enlisted the Ewoks in the fight against the Empire. Soon after, the Rebels demolished the second Death Star and celebrated the end of Imperial rule.[12] Thirty years after this victory, C-3PO worked with the Resistance to fight the First Order. He supervised surveillance droids, which were responsible for collecting intelligence across the galaxy.[13] When he was asked to decipher Sith etchings that could lead the Resistance to a critical location, he realized he could only translate the runes if his memory was wiped. He sacrificed his memory for the cause, but R2-D2 was later able to restore it. Eventually the Resistance defeated the First Order and its Sith allies.[7][14]

Creation and development[edit]

Ralph McQuarrie, a concept artist for the original 1977 Star Wars film,[b] based the initial design for C-3PO on the female robot from the Fritz Lang film Metropolis (1927).[15][16] When Anthony Daniels saw one of McQuarrie's paintings of C-3PO, he was struck by the vulnerability in the droid's face, and he wanted the role.[17][18] Lucas, who created the Star Wars franchise and directed Star Wars, selected Daniels for the physical performance. He was planning to hire another actor for the droid's voice, because he was hesitant to give the character Daniels's British accent.[19] According to Daniels, Lucas wanted C-3PO to have a "sleazy New York second-hand car dealer" type of voice.[20] Daniels recalled that thirty well-established actors auditioned for the voice role—including Richard Dreyfuss and Mel Blanc—but Daniels ultimately received the part after one of the actors suggested the idea to Lucas.[21][17][22] With Daniels voicing him, C-3PO's persona transformed from oily used-car salesman to neurotic English butler.[19][20][5][23]

For the second film, The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Lucas wanted to create audience sympathy for C-3PO by having him get dismantled.[24] He considered having the villain Darth Vader destroy the droid's heart or "turn it into an alarm clock".[25] In the finished film, C-3PO is blasted into pieces by an offscreen foe, then rescued from a scrap pile by Chewbacca.[c][26] Because both C-3PO and Chewbacca were likeable characters—and disliked one another—Lucas wanted them to have a bonding experience.[25] Towards this end, the Wookiee carries and then repairs the dismantled droid.[26]

Portrayals and appearances[edit]

Anthony Daniels has played C-3PO since 1977

Anthony Daniels plays C-3PO in ten live-action films.[4] He both physically portrays the character and provdes the voice in all of these films except for The Phantom Menace (1999). For that film, a C-3PO puppet was operated by Michael Lynch, with Daniels providing the voice.[27] Although Star Wars was immensely successful, Daniels was initially hesitant to return for the first sequel, The Empire Strikes Back. According to Daniels, the publicists for Star Wars wanted to give the impression that C-3PO was portrayed by a real robot, and not an actor in a costume.[28] Although Daniels felt his acting was undervalued, he eventually agreed to return for a higher salary.[29]

Daniels portrays C-3PO in the television series Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022) and Ahsoka (2023), and voices the droid in the animated film The Clone Wars (2008).[30] He also voices the character in The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special (2020),[31] the radio drama adaptations of the original trilogy, various video games, and five animated series: Droids, Clone Wars, The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels and Star Wars Resistance.[d][32] Daniels also plays C-3PO in the Star Wars Holiday Special (1978) and in a Star Wars-themed episode of The Donny and Marie Show.[33][23] He voices the character in the film Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018), and has provided the droid's voice for theme park attractions.[27] In video games, C-3PO is voiced by Daniels, Tom Kane and Tony Pope.[32][34][35] Simon Pegg voices the character in a 2014 Star Wars-themed episode of the animated television series Phineas and Ferb.[36]

The protocol droid appears in comics and novels in both the official Star Wars story canon and the non-canon Star Wars Legends narrative universe.[37][38][39] The canon media includes the comics Star Wars (2015–present), Shattered Empire (2015), Star Wars: C-3PO (2016) and Star Wars: Poe Dameron (2016–2018), as well as the novel Bloodline (2016).[40][41]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ In the original Star Wars film, the character is credited as "See Threepio (C3PO)". In subsequent films and other media, hyphens are used in both spellings of his name: "C-3PO" and "See-Threepio".[1]
  2. ^ The film was originally titled Star Wars, then was later retitled Star Wars: Episode IV—A New Hope.
  3. ^ Later Star Wars media reveal that the droid's assailant is an Imperial stormtrooper.[3]
  4. ^ Droids and Clone Wars are part of the Star Wars Legends narrative universe, which is separate from the official Star Wars story canon.

References[edit]

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ "C-3PO (See-Threepio)". StarWars.com. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  2. ^ Fentiman, David, ed. (2016). Star Wars Character Encyclopedia: Updated and Expanded. New York: DK Publishing. p. 38. ISBN 978-5-0010-1452-2.
  3. ^ a b Hidalgo & Sansweet 2008, p. 102.
  4. ^ a b "Star Wars Celebration Anaheim 2022 Announces First Celebrity Guests". StarWars.com. March 24, 2022. Archived from the original on December 14, 2022. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  5. ^ a b Gilbey, Ryan (September 3, 2015). "'The secrecy has been ludicrous': Star Wars actor Anthony Daniels on the new film and his life as C-3PO". The Guardian. Archived from the original on December 21, 2016. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  6. ^ Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999)
  7. ^ a b c d "C-3PO (See-Threepio)". StarWars.com. Archived from the original on July 8, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  8. ^ Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002)
  9. ^ Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005)
  10. ^ Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977)
  11. ^ Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
  12. ^ Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983)
  13. ^ Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015)
  14. ^ Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
  15. ^ Rinzler 2007, p. 103.
  16. ^ Eisner, Lotte (1977). Fritz Lang. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-306-80271-6.
  17. ^ a b Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy (DVD). 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. 2004.
  18. ^ "Biography: Anthony Daniels". StarWars.com. Archived from the original on November 11, 2006. Retrieved October 3, 2006.
  19. ^ a b Scanlon, Paul (August 25, 1977). "George Lucas: The Wizard of 'Star Wars'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 3, 2019. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  20. ^ a b Mackenzie, Steven (December 17, 2019). "We meet Anthony Daniels: the man behind C-3PO". Big Issue. Archived from the original on August 17, 2021. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
  21. ^ McCluskey, Megan (December 18, 2017). "20 Actors You Never Knew Were Almost Cast in Star Wars". TIME. Archived from the original on July 26, 2021. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  22. ^ Romano, Steven (August 20, 2015). "Actors Who Almost Appeared in Star Wars". StarWars.com. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  23. ^ a b Louis Chilton (November 1, 2019). "Sidelined, suffocated, and nearly baked alive: The story of the man who didn't want to play C-3PO". The Independent. Archived from the original on February 10, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  24. ^ Rinzler 2010, p. 132.
  25. ^ a b Rinzler 2010, p. 133.
  26. ^ a b Star Wars: Episode V—The Empire Strikes Back (1980).
  27. ^ a b Daniels 2019.
  28. ^ Rinzler 2010, p. 278.
  29. ^ Rinzler 2010, p. 695.
  30. ^ Saavedra, John (May 27, 2022). "Star Wars Obi-Wan Kenobi Cast: Meet the New Characters". Den of Geek. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  31. ^ "Lego Star Wars Holiday Special". Radio Times. Archived from the original on November 28, 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  32. ^ a b "Anthony Daniels (visual voices guide)". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
  33. ^ Thomas, William; Freer, Ian (December 3, 2015). "The Star Wars Holiday Special: may the farce be with you". Empire. Archived from the original on December 26, 2016. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
  34. ^ "Tom Kane (visual voices guide)". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  35. ^ "Star Wars: Rebel Assault". Behind the Voice Actors. Archived from the original on June 9, 2022. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  36. ^ "Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars (2014 TV Show)". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  37. ^ McMilian, Graeme (April 25, 2014). "Lucasfilm Unveils New Plans for Star Wars Expanded Universe". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 29, 2016. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
  38. ^ "The Legendary Star Wars Expanded Universe Turns a New Page". StarWars.com. April 25, 2014. Archived from the original on September 10, 2016. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
  39. ^ Dinsdale, Ryan (May 4, 2023). "The Star Wars Canon: The Definitive Guide". IGN. Archived from the original on May 3, 2024. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  40. ^ "Star Wars Special: C-3PO (2016)". Marvel. Archived from the original on March 19, 2018. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  41. ^ "Star Wars Special: C-3PO # 1 - Exclusive Preview!". StarWars.com. April 12, 2016. Archived from the original on August 25, 2016. Retrieved September 3, 2017.

Works cited[edit]


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