The release of Star Tours 2 edges ever closer and Anthony Daniels has been talking to the LA Times about his involvement and his hopes for the refreshed ride.
“It’s remarkable, just extraordinary. We did the first Star Tours almost 25 years ago, and I rode it in October just before we closed and blew the place up. It was huge pyros. And they’ve been really, really busy, and they’re busy, in fact, today working on the pre-show. The ride is finished, but the pre-show is being put in.”
“Threepio is the pilot, and it’s huge for me. Tom Fitzgerald, who sold me the concept 20-some years ago, sat across a desk and acted out the whole ride for me — he’s that kind of guy and just one of my favorite people. He came to England about two years ago, and we were sitting there having drinks when he said, ‘I want to tell you about the new Star Tours,’ The bit you’re going to really like is that C-3PO gets to be the pilot. I kept it a secret for a while, but we had to admit it. As soon as the build started and C-3PO was put in the flight simulator, the news was going to get out.”
“I won’t tell you why, but all I’m going to say is when you’re in your loading position about to get on the Starspeeder 2000, just watch the monitors. Please pay close attention. There’s a lot of footage there that we spent months creating and this whole storyline is going on, so don’t miss it because you’re looking at the floor. The pre-show is something you’ll want to enjoy before you reach the cabin. And then when you’re inside, of course, and the doors close and you have your seatbelt on, you’re off on the adventures of a lifetime.”
“It is beyond inventive. You’re going to much love it, and you’re going to much love it 54 times. You may never see all of it. It’s completely random. So you may see the same thing three times or you may have three different experiences. So there’s this extraordinary sort of slot machine effect, isn’t there? You don’t know what’s going to come up in the rows in those windows. It could be triple cherry. Each ride is gorgeous within in its own right. You will go back more than once.”
“Nobody told me that! [The details of the ride sequences were not a secret]. I’ve been so secretive about this. The story variables — I haven’t spoken to a soul about them. I just recorded them. I will tell you I got very confused in the recording; how they kept track of which storyline we were on, I have no idea. The inventiveness of the way they segue is remarkable. You wouldn’t know that you’re about to go into a different storyline and then come out of that and go back to the old one. You can bounce around and, really, the internal makings of this are extraordinary. It’s like nobody’s business. It branches, and you don’t know which branch you’re following. And I had to try to understand it all because I’m flying this stuff. It took way longer to record [than comparable types of jobs]; it was two solid days recording, and by the end of it I was just exhausted. A lot of it is ‘peril acting,’ and that’s pretty hard on your vocal cords.”
“There are things they have not told you — and I’m not going to tell you those — but there are experiences that are unique to this ride. There are things that they’ve done, things that I don’t believe have been done before and certainly not in this way. You are going to be knocked out. Look, I don’t get paid any more money for being nice about it. I’ve already been paid. And I can tell you this: I adore it. I can’t wait to get on the ride and see it myself and, well, see myself. My attitude is that I want to save it for Christmas morning. Let’s unwrap that gift together.”
If you weren’t excited before, you must be buzzing now. Keep watching for more news as we count down the days to launch.