The next installment in the Star Wars universe is right now being directed by JJ Abrams, with a release date of December 18, 2015. There’s no question the movie will have a ton of CG and greenscreen, but we can be thankful that two of the series most beloved characters will not be computer generated.
As Anthony Daniels told The Hollywood Reporter, he will be back in the gold suit, and when JJ Abrams asked, “Would you be interested in being in the film just doing the voice?” Daniels wasn’t interested, and Abrams replied, “Right!”
Daniels didn’t like the CG C3PO that was used in the Lucas prequels when it was too dangerous for Daniels to perform a scene. At the same time, Daniels won’t wear the old suit: “They made an entirely new look-a-like [suit] with changes that you will never notice that made my life a lot easier.”
Ultimately, it’s not about the discomfort of the suit, but what wearing the costume brings to the character. No matter how close CG can get to real people, even with motion captures, there’s always little touches that audiences will know are missing. “With me and in the suit, he’s always going to move the same way and have the same reactions, timing and so on. With CG, you’re working with some brilliant person on the keyboard who is trying to pretend to be me.”
