Jar Jar Binks

Conception

George Lucas was inspired to develop Jar Jar based on the Disney character of Goofy. Singer Michael Jackson was originally considered for the role, but he wanted to portray the character using prosthetics while Lucas wanted him to be all CGI. Ahmed Best, who would end up playing the character, would later hypothesize that Lucas might have felt uncomfortable with the thought of the singer's casting overshadowing the actual movie; Best was chosen based on his work in the production of Stomp as Lucas wanted someone athletic for the role. During his auditions he performed several Martial Arts moves and flips, which was a contrast to how Lucas pictured the character, which according to Best was more in line with comedic silent actors such as Buster Keaton. Best would later remark that after Lucas walked out of the audition he felt he had failed it.

The Phantom Menace

Jar Jar Binks first appears in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace as a bumbling, foolish Gungan from the planet Naboo. He is nearly killed by a Federation transport, only to be saved at the last minute by Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson). Qui-Gon and his padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), persuade Jar Jar's tribe to release him to their custody as a guide. He later goes with the Jedi and Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman) to the planet Tatooine, where he meets and befriends Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd).

Jar Jar later appears in the film's climactic battle scene, where he leads his fellow Gungans, as a general in the Gungan army, in defeating the Trade Federation. After the battle he appears at the funeral of Qui-Gon Jinn and in the ending parade with his fellow Gungans.

Attack of the Clones

Jar Jar's role in Attack of the Clones is much smaller, but his actions are significant. Ten years after helping to save his planet, he is a delegate to the Galactic Senate and as such, plays a role in bringing his old friends, Obi-Wan and Anakin (Hayden Christensen) back to Coruscant, where he greets them with enthusiasm. Later, on the behalf of the Naboo, he gives a speech to the assembled Senate in favor of granting Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) vast emergency powers. These are granted, giving Palpatine the power he needs to subsequently overthrow the senate and bring the galaxy into the dictatorial control of the Sith's Galactic Empire.

Revenge of the Sith

Jar Jar appears in only a few scenes in Revenge of the Sith, and has no dialogue (besides a brief "'scuse me" at one point). He was originally given some dialogue in the beginning, but this was cut. He is most prominently featured in Padmé Amidala's funeral procession at the end of the film.

The Clone Wars

Jar Jar Binks is a supporting character in the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, once again voiced by Best, although BJ Hughes voiced the character in a handful of season one episodes. In this series, he is a Senate representative who sometimes accompanies the main characters—Anakin, Ahsoka, Obi-Wan, and Padmé—on their adventures. He and master Mace Windu are the two main characters of the two-part episode "The Disappeared" in which they had to search for missing elders and rescue a queen, who was Jar Jar's past love interest.

Literature

Chuck Wendig's 2017 novel Star Wars: Aftermath: Empire's End, set after the events of Return of the Jedi, finds Binks as a street performer who entertains refugee children but is loathed by adults who blame him for his part in the rise of the Empire. Chris Taylor of Mashable wrote that the situation reflects real life in that adults disliked Jar Jar in the prequel films, but children were entertained by him.

In an interview, director J.J. Abrams suggested that Jar Jar's death might be referenced in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but this did not happen.

Legends

With the 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm by The Walt Disney Company, most of the licensed Star Wars novels and comics produced since the originating 1977 film Star Wars were rebranded as Star Wars Legends and declared non-canon to the franchise in April 2014.

In the game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Jar Jar is shown to have been frozen in carbonite by Darth Vader and kept in the Sith's lair.

Other appearances

Binks is a Lego mini-figure in the Lego Star Wars video games, and appears as an Angry Bird with a hook move called "Jar Jar Wings" in Angry Birds Star Wars II. Ahmed Best was signed on to portray Binks in the show Star Wars Detours.

Reception

Even before the release of The Phantom Menace, Jar Jar Binks became the subject of a great deal of media and popular attention. After the film's release Binks became symbolic of what many reviewers such as Brent Staples (The New York Times), David Edelstein (Slate), and Eric Harrison (Los Angeles Times) considered to be creative flaws of the film. The character was widely rejected and often ridiculed by people who felt that Jar Jar was included in the film solely to appeal to children. Bruce Handy of Vanity Fair wrote that "Jar Jar has come to symbolize what many fans see as the faults of the prequel trilogy: characters no one much cares about; a sense of humor geared toward the youngest conceivable audience members; an over-reliance on computer graphics; and story lines devoted to the kinds of convoluted political machinations which wouldn’t have been out of place in adaptations of I, Claudius or The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, but which fit less snugly in films with characters like Jar Jar Binks." One fan, Mike J. Nichols, created and distributed, free of charge, a modified version of the film, entitled The Phantom Edit, which cut out several scenes featuring what Nichols dubbed 'Jar Jar antics.' The character was also lampooned on an episode of the television show South Park entitled "Jakovasaurs", in The Fairly OddParents (Episode: "Abra-Catastrophe!"), The Simpsons (Episode: "Co-Dependent's Day"), as well as the parody Star Wars episodes of Robot Chicken, in which Best reprised the role in voice-over form.

Along with film critics, many have also accused the film's creators of excessive commercialization directed at young children (a criticism first leveled with the introduction of the Ewoks in Return of the Jedi). Star Wars creator George Lucas stated that he feels there is a section of the fanbase who get upset with aspects of Star Wars because "the movies are for children but they don't want to admit that... There is a small group of fans that do not like comic sidekicks. They want the films to be tough like The Terminator, and they get very upset and opinionated about anything that has anything to do with being childlike."

Allegations of racial caricature

Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal described the character as a "Rastafarian Stepin Fetchit on platform hoofs, crossed annoyingly with Butterfly McQueen." Patricia J. Williams suggested that many aspects of Jar Jar's character are highly reminiscent of the archetypes portrayed in blackface minstrelsy, while others have suggested the character is a "laid-back clown character" representing a black Caribbean stereotype. George Lucas has denied any racist implications. Ahmed Best also rejected the allegations, saying that "Jar Jar has nothing to do with the Caribbean".

Speculations of antagonism

In late October 2015, a Reddit user by the name of "Lumpawarroo" published a theory speculating that Binks was originally written as a major antagonist of the series, and a prominent collaborator with Palpatine, before being redacted from the villain's role due to the character's initial (and ongoing) negative reception. The post quickly became viral and received significant media coverage internationally by independent bloggers and major news outlets like The Guardian, The Washington Post, and The New York Times that included analysis of his actions in The Phantom Menace. Ahmed Best, who portrayed Jar Jar Binks in motion capture and voice, tweeted his thoughts on how it "feels good" when the truth comes out shortly after the theory gained widespread popularity.

The initial hints that Jar Jar Binks was to have a major role in the Prequel trilogy is consistent with him "rhyming" with Yoda. His clumsiness followed textbook examples of Zui Quan combined with the instinctive "Force" use of Bink from Xanth. Apart from Bink, there are strong indicators the character's motivations and real power is based on the Mule / jester Magnifico from Isaac Asimov's Foundation series, a common source of inspiration for George Lucas when writing for the Star Wars setting.

After sale to Disney / The Force Awakens-reboot

Leading up to the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens in December 2015, numerous sources have denied elements of the theory. Kathleen Kennedy of Lucasfilm explicitly stated that Jar Jar Binks would not make an appearance in the upcoming movie.