The final trailer for “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” included a brief yet heartwarming moment with C-3PO, which had the internet freaking out in collective panic.
The trailer, which had a heightened pace, takes a sudden break where we see C-3PO talking with Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo), among others. A creature works on the back of C-3PO. And then a fancy piece of dialogue begins.
“What are you doing there, Threepio?”
”Talking one last look, sir ... at my friends.”
As Mashable reported, the moment turned the internet into a well of pure panic.
This isn’t the first time C-3PO’s fate in “Rise of Skywalker” has inspired panic online. In August, Disney released a new “Rise of Skywalker” special look at the D23 Expo convention. The trailer showed a shot of C-3PO with red eyes. Red has often signaled danger and the dark side in the “Star Wars” universe, according to the Deseret News.
One Reddit theory suggested that C-3PO will have an old memory unit downloaded into him, becoming a protocol droid. His new memory will inspire him to use a bowcaster.
That plot idea fits with a leaked poster from earlier this year. As reported by the Deseret News, the poster shows C-3PO with a bowcaster. The poster was later deemed inaccurate.