Star Wars
Jar Jar Binks was introduced 25 (!!!) years ago, way back in 1999 when Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace first hit theaters. Jake Lloyd was playing Anakin Skywalker and Hayden Christensen hadn’t even been introduced to Star Wars fans yet.
That film, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, is either the worst film of the franchise or it holds up to the test of the time depending on which fan you’re talking to. I tend to fall in the former camp but there are a lot of vocal Star Wars prequel supporters on Reddit over the past years who might attempt to crucify me for speaking negatively about Phantom Menace.
One horrible inclusion of the prequel films that stood out to EVERYONE who was watching them when they hit theaters was the bumbling amphibious Gungan creature who went by Jar Jar Binks. The voice was awful. The dialog was even worse.
Darth Jar Jar Binks Introduced In ‘LEGO Star Wars’ Trailer
It was all so cartoonishly unnecessary that it only makes sense for Jar Jar Binks to make his triumphant return as Dart Jar Jar Binks in a trailer for LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy which premieres on Disney+ on September 13th. Darth Jar Jar Binks can be found at the end of the YouTube teaser or in the clip shared below on X (formerly Twitter) with just the Darth Jar Jar portion:
And:
Darth Jar Jar is real and he can hurt yousa. https://t.co/AWBVwXgwq9 pic.twitter.com/PNag8lI1q5
— IGN (@IGN) May 6, 2024
‘Mesa Going To Hurt Yousa’ is not a line of dialog I ever expected to see in the Star Wars franchise after the late 90s or early oughts. I reaaaaally thought we had moved past the Jar Jar Binks era but honestly, I’m torn on Darth Jar Jar because the nostalgia might work. Only time will tell.
Reactions are mixed but the original Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill, is all in on Darth Jar Jar. On X he wrote “You had me at Darth Jar Jar. LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy arrives September 13, only on @DisneyPlus.”
Diehard Star Wars fans were also elated at the news that Ahmed Best, the original voice of Jar Jar Binks, will be reprising the role and voicing Darth Jar Jar for LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy:
We win. Ahmed Best will voice Darth Jar Jar in “LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy,” a “4-piece” animated special debuting Sept. 13. pic.twitter.com/pTtG1w0ejC
— Brooke Geiger McDonald (@BrookeGMcDonald) May 6, 2024
There were some memes:
And some fans had questions like “Did they just make Darth Jar Jar canon!?” Spoiler alert: they did.
Another person asked “Did we seriously just get a Lego Star Wars what if?” Spoiler alert: it is (kind of).
The simple fact of the matter is the LEGO franchise doesn’t miss. Ever. And even the most curmudgeonly millennials like myself who hated Jar Jar Binks in the past will be swayed by Darth Jar Jar Binks in LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy.