Evidently, while the story of “The Empire Strikes Back” was still being brainstormed, there was going to be a version of the above scene that was more elaborate. Darth Vader was supposed to capture the film’s heroes and then receive the scattered remains of the cute droid that a random Stormtrooper had shot. Darth Vader would then reach into C-3PO’s blown-up torso and rip out his robotic heart. He would squeeze his heart in his fist, crushing it and killing C-3PO.
I imagine that if that scene had been included in “The Empire Strikes Back”, then C-3PO would not have been present for its sequel, “Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi”.
When “The Empire Strikes Back” came out in 1980, C-3PO was assumed to be a simple protocol droid that someone had purchased long ago. In 1999, however, with the release of George Lucas’ “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace,” it was revealed that C-3PO had been built by a young slave boy named Anakin Skywalker, primarily as an engineering exercise. Anakin, as any “Star Wars” fan could tell you, grew up to become Darth Vader. It would have been a rather bleak conceit, seeing Vader “kill” the droid he himself had built as a child.
In the final film, C-3PO survived the ordeal and was successfully reassembled. In fact, he would go on to appear in many more “Star Wars” films and TV shows, including his own animated series, “Droids,” and eight other films, making C-3PO the most ubiquitous player in all of “Star Wars.” media along with his frequent companion, the droid R2-D2. Thanks to Disneyland’s rides, audiobooks and video games, Anthony Daniels has been in more “Star Wars” projects than any other actor.
Leave a Reply