Star Wars behind the scenes sneak peek! C-3PO gets the VIP treatment as assistants fuss over him under a gold umbrella while on set with Chewbacca and Rey

  • Chewbacca, Rey and Finn are seen waiting in the sun while C-3PO is attended to under a gold umbrella on The Rise of Skywalker set
  • Anthony Daniels is the only actor to star in all nine of the Skywalker Saga Star Wars films
  • Daniels raved about the script for The Rise of Skywalker, written by director J.J. Abrams and Chris Terrio 
  • The actor didn't receive the script until just before filming started, giving him little time to prepare
  • He revealed the one line he couldn't say - 'common emblem' - one of the few story tidbits revealed 
  • Daniels also said C-3PO does something 'surprising' in this final Skywalker Saga adventure 
  • Famed photographer Annie Liebowitz took the behind-the-scenes snaps on the Star Wars set

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C-3PO gets the VIP treatment with a matching gold umbrella, while Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega) and Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo) wait in the sun in a new behind-the-scenes photo from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

The snap is part of Vanity Fair's extensive preview, with behind-the-scenes photos from the set, including the first look at Keri Russell's Zorri Bliss.

The iconic droid C-3PO is one again played by Anthony Daniels, the only actor to appear in all nine of the primary Skywalker saga Star Wars films, and he's clearly being treated quite well.

VIP C-3PO: C-3PO gets the VIP treatment with a matching gold umbrella, while Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega) and Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo) wait in the sun in a new behind-the-scenes photo from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

VIP C-3PO: C-3PO gets the VIP treatment with a matching gold umbrella, while Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega) and Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo) wait in the sun in a new behind-the-scenes photo from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

The script for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was heavily guarded, with Daniels revealing he didn't actually get his hands on the script until shortly before filming was set to begin.

He also revealed that the first line he was supposed to say - 'Common emblem' - he simply could not say, for whatever reason.

'My first line would not go in my head,' Daniels said. 'The line that I couldn't say was two words: 'common emblem.' Common emblem, common emblem—I would say them thousands of times. My wife would say it back. I just couldn't say them!'

C-3Po and friends: C-3PO was briefly seen in the Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker teaser trailer released at Star Wars Celebration in mid-April, on a speeding craft with Finn and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac)

C-3Po and friends: C-3PO was briefly seen in the Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker teaser trailer released at Star Wars Celebration in mid-April, on a speeding craft with Finn and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) 

Daniels also teased that his beloved protocol droid character, who is fluent in over six million forms of communication, does something quite unexpected in The Rise of Skywalker, but he wouldn't say what it was.

'He keeps his clothes on. It's not like he suddenly does this but...,' Daniels cryptically added.

C-3PO was briefly seen in the Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker teaser trailer released at Star Wars Celebration in mid-April, on a speeding craft with Finn and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac).

Unexpected: Daniels also teased that his beloved protocol droid character, who is fluent in over six million forms of communication, does something quite unexpected in The Rise of Skywalker, but he wouldn't say what it was

Unexpected: Daniels also teased that his beloved protocol droid character, who is fluent in over six million forms of communication, does something quite unexpected in The Rise of Skywalker, but he wouldn't say what it was

Another star from the original trilogy makes his return to the Star Wars universe, Billy Dee Williams' Lando Calrissian, who is seen in the trailer flying his old ship, the Millennium Falcon.

Calrissian first appeared in 1980's The Empire Strikes Back, an old friend of Han Solo (Harrison Ford) who was the original owner of the Millennium Falcon before Han won it in a game of sabaac.

Many fans are still not happy that Calrissian made a deal with Darth Vader, and Williams has seemingly spent the past four decades defending his character, as he did in this new interview. 

Lando's return: Another star from the original trilogy makes his return to the Star Wars universe, Billy Dee Williams' Lando Calrissian, who is seen in the trailer flying his old ship, the Millennium Falcon

Lando's return: Another star from the original trilogy makes his return to the Star Wars universe, Billy Dee Williams' Lando Calrissian, who is seen in the trailer flying his old ship, the Millennium Falcon

'He's a survivor. It's expediency for him,' Williams says. 'You know, he was thrown into a situation which he didn't look for and he had to try to figure out how to deal with an entity which is more than just a human,' before adding, 'Nobody died!'

Another familiar character returns in The Last Skywalker, Chewbacca, but the man underneath the suit has changed over the past few years.

Peter Mayhew portrayed Chewie in the original trilogy and prequel trilogy, along with 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but he was replaced by former Finnish basketball player Joonas Suotamo.

On set: Another familiar character returns in The Last Skywalker, Chewbacca, but the man underneath the suit has changed over the past few years

On set: Another familiar character returns in The Last Skywalker, Chewbacca, but the man underneath the suit has changed over the past few years

Mayhew as Chewie: Peter Mayhew (seen above in The Empire Strikes Back) portrayed Chewie in the original trilogy and prequel trilogy, along with 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but he was replaced by former Finnish basketball player Joonas Suotamo

Mayhew as Chewie: Peter Mayhew (seen above in The Empire Strikes Back) portrayed Chewie in the original trilogy and prequel trilogy, along with 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but he was replaced by former Finnish basketball player Joonas Suotamo

'When I first met [Mayhew] he told me I was a wee bit too skinny,' Suotamo says. 'But we also had a Wookiee boot camp, which lasted for a week. He told me all kinds of things about the moves that Chewbacca does, how they came to be and his reasoning behind them.'

Suotamo has now played Chewie in four movies, as Mayhew's double in The Force Awakens, plus 2017's Star Wars: The Last Jedi and 2018's Solo: A Star Wars Story, and is loving every minute of it.'

'It's very much like silent-era film, with Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin,' Suotamo added. 'He's a mime character and that's what he does, and I guess in that minimalism comes the beauty of the character.'

Leia returns: The Last Skywalker will also feature the final film appearance of Carrie Fisher, who passed away unexpectedly at the age of 60 in December 2016, after she had already wrapped on 2017's The Last Jedi

Leia returns: The Last Skywalker will also feature the final film appearance of Carrie Fisher, who passed away unexpectedly at the age of 60 in December 2016, after she had already wrapped on 2017's The Last Jedi

The Last Skywalker will also feature the final film appearance of Carrie Fisher, who passed away unexpectedly at the age of 60 in December 2016, after she had already wrapped on 2017's The Last Jedi.

Director J.J. Abrams, who returns after directing 2015's The Force Awakens, spoke about how he took unused scenes from The Force Awakens and wrote scenes around that footage so she could be featured in The Rise of Skywalker.

'It's hard to even talk about it without sounding like I'm being some kind of cosmic spiritual goofball, but it felt like we suddenly had found the impossible answer to the impossible question,' Abrams said.

Playing coy: While she recently played coy about her involvement in The Rise of Skywalker, Fisher's daughter, Billie Lourd, has been confirmed to be in the highly-anticipated sequel

Playing coy: While she recently played coy about her involvement in The Rise of Skywalker, Fisher's daughter, Billie Lourd, has been confirmed to be in the highly-anticipated sequel

Star Wars return: Lourd's character, Lieutenant Connix, was deliberately written out of these scenes by Abrams at first, because he thought it might be too painful, but Lourd insisted she wanted to be in them

Star Wars return: Lourd's character, Lieutenant Connix, was deliberately written out of these scenes by Abrams at first, because he thought it might be too painful, but Lourd insisted she wanted to be in them

Moments: 'There are moments where they're talking; there are moments where they're touching,' Abrams added. 'There are moments in this movie where Carrie is there, and I really do feel there is an element of the uncanny, spiritual, you know, classic Carrie, that it would have happened this way, because somehow it worked. And I never thought it would'

Moments: 'There are moments where they're talking; there are moments where they're touching,' Abrams added. 'There are moments in this movie where Carrie is there, and I really do feel there is an element of the uncanny, spiritual, you know, classic Carrie, that it would have happened this way, because somehow it worked. And I never thought it would'

While she recently played coy about her involvement in The Rise of Skywalker, Fisher's daughter, Billie Lourd, has been confirmed to be in the highly-anticipated sequel. 

Lourd's character, Lieutenant Connix, was deliberately written out of these scenes by Abrams at first, because he thought it might be too painful, but Lourd insisted she wanted to be in them.

'There are moments where they're talking; there are moments where they're touching,' Abrams added. 'There are moments in this movie where Carrie is there, and I really do feel there is an element of the uncanny, spiritual, you know, classic Carrie, that it would have happened this way, because somehow it worked. And I never thought it would.'

Kylo Ren: Disney also confirmed that the Knights of Ren, who are shown briefly in The Force Awakens, will have a much bigger role alongside Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), who is forming a 'bond' with Rey (Daisy Ridley)

Kylo Ren: Disney also confirmed that the Knights of Ren, who are shown briefly in The Force Awakens, will have a much bigger role alongside Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), who is forming a 'bond' with Rey (Daisy Ridley)

Disney also confirmed that the Knights of Ren, who are shown briefly in The Force Awakens, will have a much bigger role alongside Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), who is forming a 'bond' with Rey (Daisy Ridley).

'And then he had been forging this maybe-bond with Rey,” Driver said. 'And it kind of ends with the question in the air: is he going to pursue that relationship, or when the door of her ship goes up, does that also close that camaraderie that they were maybe forming?' 

'How do you form friendships out of that?' Driver says. 'How do you understand the weight of that? And if there’s no one around you guiding you, or articulating things the right way … it can easily go awry.'

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hits theaters nationwide December 20. 

Rey's bond: 'And then he had been forging this maybe-bond with Rey,” Driver said. 'And it kind of ends with the question in the air: is he going to pursue that relationship, or when the door of her ship goes up, does that also close that camaraderie that they were maybe forming?

Rey's bond: 'And then he had been forging this maybe-bond with Rey,” Driver said. 'And it kind of ends with the question in the air: is he going to pursue that relationship, or when the door of her ship goes up, does that also close that camaraderie that they were maybe forming?

Rey: 'And then he had been forging this maybe-bond with Rey,” Driver said. 'And it kind of ends with the question in the air: is he going to pursue that relationship, or when the door of her ship goes up, does that also close that camaraderie that they were maybe forming?'

Rey: 'And then he had been forging this maybe-bond with Rey,” Driver said. 'And it kind of ends with the question in the air: is he going to pursue that relationship, or when the door of her ship goes up, does that also close that camaraderie that they were maybe forming?'

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Star Wars behind the scenes sneak peek! C3PO gets the VIP treatment as assistants fuss over him

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