Almost two years on from the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Rian Johnson’s divisive blockbuster remains a touchy topic online, and with the premiere of J.J. Abrams’ The Rise of Skywalker approaching fast, you can expect the discourse to get all the more intense in the coming months.
After the previous entry in the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy left parts of the fandom fuming, there’s even a section of the filmgoing public that’s now calling for a boycott of this year’s release, but if you ask C-3PO actor Anthony Daniels, the ongoing backlash is nothing for Lucasfilm to lose sleep over.
The longtime series regular recently spoke at a Paris press conference to promote his upcoming book I Am C-3PO –The Inside Story, where he acknowledged the divided state of the Star Wars fandom before offering his assurance that The Rise of Skywalker will be a real crowd-pleaser. Reddit user Futur_alliance summed up the main talking points as follows:
“[He] is aware of the fan division, reads and hears that some fans are saying they will never watch TROS, says he doesn’t believe it because this film is the final one, and he believes they’ll be first in line… [He] says everyone will be satisfied with the ending, called JJ a brilliant mind as well as Chris Terrio, as they really gathered all the scattered storyline pieces and concluded them. Says there is something for everyone in this movie from darkside lovers to light side.”
Of course, the actor who plays C-3PO can hardly be considered an impartial source on the next Star Wars film, but if you’re still on the fence about The Rise of Skywalker then perhaps the trailer that’s due to drop this Monday can help you make up your mind.
Regardless, seeing how this next film is set to wrap up the entire Skywalker Saga, there’s a very good chance that The Rise of Skywalker will serve as Daniels’ final big screen outing in the role of Threepio. The actor himself even suggested as such in an interview with Variety earlier this year, when he recalled feeling like it was “okay to say goodbye” after shooting his final scene.
Either way, you can catch Daniels as the beloved droid at least one more time when Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hits theaters on December 20th.