Prior to The Mandalorian & Grogu, only one actor in the entire world could say that they appeared in every Star Wars film that had ever been released, as many thought the new Star Wars film would not feature that actor. While they seemingly did not show up at any point throughout the movie, the end credits revealed that they did play a part in The Mandalorian & Grogu, extending their streak for being credited as an actor in every film in the galaxy far, far away.
The end credits for The Mandalorian & Grogu revealed that longtime Star Wars actor Anthony Daniels was credited in an acting role for the movie. Specifically, he portrayed a character named "Droid Flight Dispatcher." This was a voice-only role for Daniels, but it did allow him to make a cameo appearance in the film.
Notably, this extends Daniels' historic streak of appearing in every single Star Wars movie to ever be released. He is most well-known for his portrayal of C-3PO in the Skywalker Saga, but since 3PO wasn't expected to be in The Mandalorian & Grogu at all, many weren't expecting Daniels to return.
It is worth noting that The Mandalorian & Grogu isn't the first Star Wars movie Daniels has appeared as a different character than C-3PO. While the longtime Star Wars actor did appear in the lackluster Solo: A Star Wars Story, it wasn't as everyone's favorite protocol droid who is fluent in over six million forms of communication.
Instead, Daniels had a cameo appearance in Solo as a character named Tak. Tak was a slave working in the salt mines of Kessel, and he only popped up very briefly in Solo. The Ron Howard-directed Star Wars flick was the first movie in which Daniels didn't play C-3PO, but his cameo role in it was carefully picked.
Some Star Wars fans will remember in the original A New Hope movie how C-3PO says something along the lines of he and R2-D2 being "sent to the spice mines of Kessel or smashed into who knows what." That specific line directly led to Daniels' Solo cameo as a character who had been sent to the spice mines of Kessel.
No one has seemingly figured out exactly which Droid Flight Dispatcher was portrayed by Daniels in the fun Mandalorian & Grogu movie, but it is possible someone like director Jon Favreau or possibly even Daniels himself can shed some more light on his return to Star Wars, and maybe even tell fans exactly where his character can be seen.
So, 49 years later, Anthony Daniels is still playing in Star Wars films and has continued the longest-running streak in franchise history. Now, many fans will be wondering if he will show up in the next theatrical release.
Will Anthony Daniels Appear in Starfighter?
Now that The Mandalorian & Grogu has officially been released in theaters, the next Star Wars movie on Lucasfilm's upcoming slate is the Ryan Gosling-led Starfighter film. Starfighter's cast, early story details, and behind-the-scenes events (such as Tom Cruise coming to set) have already made a lot of fans excited for its release.
However, now that Anthony Daniels had a cameo role in The Mandalorian & Grogu, many are likely wondering if he will have a similar role in Starfighter. Obviously, no one will know if Daniels is in the film until it is released or someone from the studio or in the cast confirms it, so that question likely won't be answered until May 28, 2027.
Most likely, Daniels will make a cameo appearance in Starfighter. Now that he has appeared in The Mandalorian & Grogu, it is clear he and Lucasfilm want to continue the trend of the actor appearing in every Star Wars movie until he physically can't anymore. He could have easily been left out of Solo and The Mandalorian & Grogu since his most well-known character, C-3PO, wasn't in either of those films, but it was still important that Daniels be included.
Now, it is technically possible that Daniels could show up in Starfighter as C-3PO. In The Rise of Skywalker, 3PO's memory was wiped, but R2-D2 restored it at the end of the film. Starfighter will be taking place after The Rise of Skywalker, and some rumors have suggested that it could tie into the Skywalker Saga or include Rey at the end of the movie, especially since it will be dealing with at least one Force-sensitive character.
One would assume 3PO would still be with the New Republic, or the Resistance, or whatever the good guys are going to call themselves after taking down the First Order, so if Rey showed up in Starfighter, C-3PO could be with her.
However, even if she doesn't, there is a really good chance Daniels will have yet another cameo role in Starfighter so he can keep his streak alive of appearing in every Star Wars movie.
