Anthony Daniels asked JJ Abrams to kill off C-3PO in The Rise of Skywalker

Since 1977 the one constant across all three STAR WARS trilogies has been actor Anthony Daniels. The seventy-three year old English actor has portrayed the golden protocol droid C-3PO in all nine saga films. Although the next episode is set to wrap up the Skywalker saga, there's always the possibility that ten or fifteen years from now Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, and Oscar Isaac could return for a new STAR WARS trilogy. Daniels would fast be approaching ninety at that point, but in any event C-3PO is unlikely to appear for one simple reason – Anthony Daniels asked J.J. Abrams to kill off the character.

While making the press rounds for the upcoming THE RISE OF SKYWALKER, Daniels was asked directly about requesting C-3PO be killed off:

"Before filming this, it seemed like the writers had slightly run out of steam with C-3PO. I didn’t want him to just become a wall decoration. I thought he should have a big send-off or send-off that gave you finality, and of course, at the time, J.J. said “no way… But J.J. is notorious for changing his mind on a minute-by-minute basis. It makes working with him a vibrant experience."

Daniels' comments certainly ring true. The character of C-3PO, along with R2D2, has been relegated to the background in the new sequel trilogy. C-3PO had little or nothing to do in THE FORCE AWAKENS and THE LAST JEDI, with BB-8 emerging as the preeminent droid. However, it looks as though that's about to change with THE RISE OF SKYWALKER. The previews indicate that C-3PO has a significant role to play in the film involving a mission for our new heroes. The fact that he's taking, "one last look" at his friends certainly suggests a element of finality to the part. Hell there's a television promo where he tells R2D2 what a great friend he is.

Oh my God. This is a farewell tour for C-3PO. I'm not crying, you're crying.

Now since C-3PO is a droid, the traditional concept of "death" doesn't exactly apply here. For all we know "killing" C-3PO could simply mean wiping his memory. However, since that action was already done at the end of REVENGE OF THE SITH, my guess is that C-3PO will sacrifice his physical body as well as his computer brain. Poor goldenrod.

STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER starring Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Keri Russell, Lupita Nyong'o, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Richard Grant, Anthony Daniels, Domhnall Gleeson, and Dominic Monaghan blasts its way into theaters December 20.