Force Friday: Star Wars icon Anthony Daniels says JJ Abrams 'more collaborative' than George Lucas

Star Wars actor Anthony Daniels, who has played C-3PO in all six films in the franchise, has admitted that George Lucas was "hard to collaborate" with as a director. Reprising his role as the golden worry droid in the forthcoming Episode VII, he admits that new helmer JJ Abrams is much more keen to listen to his crew for guidance, making the latest instalment a better film than the Lucas-led prequels that hit screens between 1999 and 2005.

"George has changed a lot over the years," he candidly confessed in an interview with The Guardian. "But I think he finds it slightly hard to collaborate. He made decisions that I believe might have been better discussed with other people. JJ is more collaborative. He likes to listen.

"Ah, the prequels. I turned one on the other night. Sky seems to have devoted a whole channel to them. The effects are clever but pointless. The skill is there, but so what? Coldness, that's the word. Bleakness, even.

"It became clear early on that with JJ we were getting back to the old-fashioned kind of film-making," he said to the publication, as he continued to sing Abrams' praises. "We have walls. Actual sets! All right, so you might not have a view out of the window, but you have a window. Now, what else can I tell you?" Evidently thinking of something in particular to tell the publication, the actor has a sudden change of heart, stating: "No, I can't tell you that."

It is not surprising that he can't reveal much about the upcoming instalment The Force Awakens, set to be released in December, considering how highly anticipated it is. The film has an enormous amount of pressure to be good, and the more they tell of what's to come then the less of a spectacle it will be on the big screen. But while Disney may have its reasons for keeping every detail under wraps, Daniels believes it is all a little extreme.

"The secrecy has been beyond ludicrous. For heaven's sake, it's a movie. When I got the script, it was typed in black on paper of the deepest red so you couldn't photocopy it. I got a hangover just reading it."

He even went on to describe the time when he was reproached by the studio for mentioning a fellow The Force Awakens actor's name in a tweet. "I said that I'd met so-and-so. An actor who plays a ... thing in the film. A character. Immediately I received a message from Disney: 'Remove the tweet! You're not allowed to say that!

"Honestly. It's a kind of Kremlin attitude. Look, I know perfectly well not to tell you now what I'm giving you for a Christmas present because it would spoil the surprise. And these films are all about opening the box on Christmas Day."