Though R2-D2 and C-3PO have appeared in every Star Wars episode to date, it’s been a while now since the two of them have been given much opportunity to interact with each other, with the duo being kept mostly separate in the ongoing Sequel Trilogy. That looks set to change, however, with the upcoming Star Wars: Episode IX, with actor Jimmy Vee announcing the end of his time on set with a shout out to his costar Anthony Daniels.
For the last few movies, Vee has taken over from original R2 actor Kenny Baker, who was credited as consultant for The Force Awakens before his passing in 2016. Now it seems that Vee has filmed his last scenes for J.J. Abrams’ next film, with the star taking to Twitter with a set photo of R2 and 3PO, along with the following message:
“It’s been a pleasure working with you. .#anthonydaniels #c3p0 .. #starwars”
Daniels recently tweeted a heartfelt message of his own to mark his final day on the Episode IX set, writing that he’ll miss his fellow cast and crew, but is “glad to know that [they’ve] been making something exceptional together, to share with the waiting world.”
Since sharing these comments, Daniels has repeatedly returned to Twitter to tease a major development to come, and seeing how the official title for The Last Jedi was announced on January 23rd on the year of its release, many fans were quick to speculate that Episode IX was about to get the same treatment. Sadly, this turned out not to be the case, suggesting that Lucasfilm is working on a notably different schedule for the promotion of their next feature.
But regardless of what we end up calling the film, we’ll be able to see R2 and 3PO in action at least one more time when Star Wars: Episode IX hits theaters on December 20th, 2019.