C-3PO (/ˌsiːˈθriːpioʊ/) or See-Threepio[f] 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 has appeared in television series, novels, comic books, and video games.
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 taking 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 exchanged with the head of a battle droid. During the Clone Wars, C-3PO served Padmé, who had become a Senator. After the Wars, he and R2-D2 were transferred to the service of Captain Raymus Antilles, and C-3PO's memory was erased.[7][8][9]
Almost two decades 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 the duo subsequently met Lars's adopted nephew, Luke Skywalker. The droids followed Luke 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 traveled 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 Darth 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 gave 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, the group 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 the Rebel 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 C-3PO 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]
Ralph McQuarrie, a concept artist for the original 1977 Star Wars film,[g] 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.[h][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]
Anthony Daniels has played C-3PO in ten live-action films.[4] He both physically portrayed the character and provded 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]
^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]
^The film was originally titled Star Wars, then was later retitled Star Wars: Episode IV—A New Hope.
^Later Star Wars media reveal that the droid's assailant is an Imperial stormtrooper.[3]
Rinzler, J.W. (2007). The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind the Original Film (eBook v3.1 ed.). New York: Del Rey. ISBN978-0-345-54286-1.
Rinzler, J.W. (2010). The Making of the Empire Strikes Back (eBook v3.1 ed.). London: Del Rey. ISBN9780345543363.
