Jar Jar Binks, the clumsy Gungan introduced in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, has been on something of a redemption tour as of late. Now, ahead of his turn in LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy, it’s worth asking what exactly became of Jar Jar in canon.
Our Sith Jar Jar fantasies are about to come true in the LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy miniseries, which is set to arrive on Disney+ next month. Here, our favorite exile-turned-Nabooian representative will again be voiced by Ahmed Best, who memorably returned to Star Wars for The Mandalorian season 3 to play Jedi Master Kelleran Beq. It was a fitting tribute to the actor, who faced decades of unjust harassment due to his—albeit, very silly—role in George Lucas’ prequel trilogy.
I think I can safely say that Star Wars fans are finally on the same page about Jar Jar because he totally rules. No, I will not be accepting further arguments. But given we haven’t seen the character in live-action since 2005’s Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, his fate remains something of a mystery.
What happened to Jar Jar after Order 66?
POV: the Jedi Temple on Coruscant has been taken over by Darth Vader (Hayden Christensen), the clones are now evil, your BFF Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman) is dead, and Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) has declared himself Galactic Emperor. Suffice it to say, Order 66 was not kind to Jar Jar Binks.
The last time the Gungan appears in his full, CG glory is in the closing moments of Revenge of the Sith, where he can be seen mourning his friend Padmé at her funeral procession after she dies giving birth to the twins. Beyond that, zilch. There’s no mention of him in the original trilogy or any of the live-action Star Wars projects after it, and there’s probably a good reason for this.
Given the sheer amount of backlash Jar Jar received following the release of The Phantom Menace, any plans for him to have a bigger role in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith were probably scrapped by George Lucas, with comic relief duties going to C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) and R2-D2. He does pop up here and there in the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV series, but much of his fate post-Order 66 is delegated to author Chuck Wendig’s canon novel Star Wars: Aftermath: Empire’s End.
In the book, Jar Jar lives out his days as a street performer on Naboo after being banished from Otoh Gunga yet again, this time, for his role in the rise of the Empire. This dude seriously cannot catch a break! Thankfully, it wasn’t all bad, as Jar Jar took on an apprentice of his own named Mapo and taught him his ways—thus, the Bink’s legacy lives on.
Jar Jar will return
As mentioned, the upcoming LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy series, which premieres on Disney+ on September 13, will see a popular fan theory come to life: Darth Jar Jar. From what we’ve seen, it looks like we’re in for a goofy, time-twisty romp through the Star Wars multiverse, as the show will a powerful Jedi relic rewriting reality after it’s accidentally activated by “ordinary nerf-herder” Sig Greebling (Gaten Matarazzo). And yes, in one of these dimensions, Jar Jar is a powerful Sith Lord: “Mesa going to hurt yousa!”
So, will we ever see Jar Jar in live-action Star Wars again? I doubt it, but the upcoming LEGO special could give the character some much-needed closure. With the franchise slowly but surely moving away from the Skywalker Saga, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Jar Jar go out with it—after all, I don’t think anyone is exactly rallying for a Tales of the Gungans Disney+ series here. But who knows? Never say never, I guess.
Published: Aug 25, 2024 11:38 am