Star Wars trailer: Fans predict C-3PO death in Episode 9 – The Rise of Skywalker

Some fans have been left very concerned

Star Wars fans have been left concerned about the fate of one of the saga’s longest-standing characters following the release of a brand new trailer.

Disney and Lucasfilm unveiled the final look at Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker during the half time of an NFL game in the US, and it left viewers excited for the reunion of Rey (Daisy Ridley), Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), Finn (John Boyega), Poe (Oscar Isaac) and BB-8 as well as the final performance from Carrie Fisher, who died before the release of The Last Jedi.

One moment, though, has left fans worried about C-3PO (Anthony Daniels). It shows him in a room with Poe, Rey, Finn, BB-8 and new character Zorri Bliss (Keri Russell) when Poe asks him what he’s doing.

He replies: “Taking one last look, sir – at my friends.”

Many are assuming this line, placed in the trailer to heighten the film’s finality, could signal the character’s death in the film.

“I definitely got some Dobby vibes from that line,” one Reddit user wrote, referencing the house elf who dies in the penultimate Harry Potter film.

Another user predicted the character will sacrifice himself, writing: “He’s gonna be used as a detonator for some kind of huge bomb, isn’t he?”

One Redditor suggested that C-3PO won’t die, but the character we know and love will be forever changed. “He is having his memory wiped in order to translate something his programming forbids him from, thus one last look,” they wrote.

Directed by JJ Abrams, Star Wars 9 will focus on the regrouping of the Resistance following heavy losses against the First Order and Kylo Ren in The Last Jedi (2017).

Also returning in the sequel will be Maz Kanata (Lupita ​Nyong’o), General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson), Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran) and Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo).

Newcomers include Richard E Grant, Naomi Ackie, Lost star Dominic Monaghan and Keri Russell in a “crucial” role believed to be associated with Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), whom fans are convinced will return as a Force ghost in the new film after dying in Episode VIII.

Some fans think a leaked image of a brand new character revealed who former Doctor Who and The Crown star Matt Smith will play.

In terms of the original cast from George Lucas’s Star Wars films, Billy Dee Williams will reprise the role of Lando Calrissian, having last appeared as the smuggler in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, along with Denis Lawson who plays Luke’s Rogue Squadron co-founder, Wedge Antilles (fun fact: he’s Obi-Wan Kenobi actor Ewan McGregor’s uncle).

Abrams has also confirmed that Ian McDiarmid will be back as the villain Palpatine – although some have theorised he actually appeared in The Last Jedi in disguise as another character.

One huge theory that’s been doing the rounds predicts not only the return of Hayden Christensen’s Anakin Skywalker, but that the film’s title refers to the character who became Darth Vader in Revenge of the Sith (2005).

Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker reaches cinemas on 16 December 2019.