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Director, writer, and creator of “Star Wars,” George Lucas, has a favorite character from the space opera franchise. It isn’t Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, or Mara Jade, Luke Skywalker’s non-canon wife. Rather, it’s a popular alien that first appeared in the film, “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.” During a fan event surrounding the 20th anniversary of the fourth film released in the “Star Wars” franchise, Lucas revealed that his favorite character is none other than Jar Jar Binks.
In a video shown during the event (via YouTube), the director stated that the film was one of his favorite movies, too, and that Jar Jar is his most cherished character. Lucas also praised Ahmed Best, the actor who played Jar Jar. Appearing early in the film, Jar Jar helped Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn escape the droid army by taking them to his underwater city.
Following his big screen premiere, the character showed up in the other two prequel trilogy movies, “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” and several video games. He’s more of a character designed for children, as he’s quirky, clumsy, and provides a bit of comedy during scenes. However, Binks may be beloved by his maker, but he isn’t all that liked by fans. Posts on Reddit say they felt Jar Jar was too silly and unserious for the movie.
Why did fans not like Jar Jar Binks?
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One reason some fans didn’t appreciate Jar Jar Binks was that he was a wacky, comedic character, and the previous trilogy didn’t have anyone quite like that. At least not front and center, so it was jarring. After waiting 20 years to get more of the Skywalker saga, they were ultimately let down by the 1999 release’s comic relief, which they didn’t find all that humorous. Jar Jar wasn’t the first character in “Star Wars” that didn’t turn out to be a fan favorite, though.
“Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi” introduced Ewoks, small fuzzy creatures that called the forest moon of Endor their home. Some fans criticized them upon the movie’s release just about as much as Jar Jar. Tonally, both characters felt off. “Star Wars” is a universe about standing up to evil and finding hope in a galaxy where hardly any of it remains after being snuffed out by the Empire. Fans thought Jar Jar brought too much childlike carefree energy into that universe.
Ahmed Best revealed later that all of the comments and backlash from fans towards Jar Jar ended up impacting his mental health. In a social media post (via BBC), Best said he considered taking his own life due to witnessing all of the negativity towards the character he portrayed in the three prequel “Star Wars” films. He revealed more in an interview about what it’s like being the most hated man in “Star Wars.”
Ahmed Best brought Jar Jar to life
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Best would later make a surprise cameo appearance in another project in the galaxy far, far away that wasn’t related to Jar Jar Binks at all. Best got to star as a new character in “The Mandalorian” – one of the best “Star Wars” live-action series – appearing as Jedi Kelleran Beq, who saved Grogu from the Jedi Temple during Palpatine’s Order 66. Kelleran Beq first appeared in the TV series “Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge” in 2020. But that wasn’t his first appearance as another character in the space fantasy movie series.
He also played Achk Med-Beq in “Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones,” a character that saw Anakin and Obi-Wan capture bounty hunter Zam Wesell in Coruscant. He seems to be part of a larger family of Beqs. There are many fans, especially on Reddit, who believe that bringing Best back to portray a Jedi in another “Star Wars” series was genius.
They feel it was a justice to Best and a way to honor his time as Jar Jar Binks. From playing a hated character to a Jedi who saved one of the most beloved characters in the franchise, Best continues to voice Binks today. He even played Darth Jar Jar in “Lego Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy,” a character who certain fans believed was going to be secret Sith in the canon.
