After facing literal decades of fan fury, Ahmed Best is once again returning to Star Wars for a new collaboration with Disney+ and LEGO, and it’s safe to say that this wasn’t on our 2024 bingo cards. Nonetheless, Darth Jar Jar Binks is finally here, and he could very well change Star Wars forever.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the George Lucas-helmed (and criminally underrated) Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. To celebrate, Disney and Lucasfilm have brought the film back to theaters worldwide, introducing a whole new generation to the beauty of podracing, trade disputes, baby-faced Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), and Darth Maul’s (Ray Park) seriously impressive lightsaber skills. Yep, the ’90s nostalgia is alive and well, folks.
With this new wave of Phantom Menace hype going around, it’s no wonder that Disney and Lucasfilm are capitalizing on the Jar Jar Binks of it all. Once considered one of the most hated characters in Star Wars history, Jar Jar and the actor who played him, Ahmed Best, have since found new appreciation from fans, particularly those of the Star Wars prequel era who are now old enough to realize that yes, Jar Jar actually kind of rules. More recently, younger generations got to see Best tackle a very different character in season 3 of The Mandalorian, where he played Grogu’s savior, Jedi Master Kelleran Beq, during an Order 66 flashback scene, only adding to the actor’s favorability.
Look, let’s be real: is Jar Jar Binks arguably the most irritating “comic relief” character in all of Star Wars? Perhaps. But the floppy-eared Gungan is also a true testament to George Lucas’ wildly creative vision for the franchise, as well as Industrial Light & Magic’s (ILM) groundbreaking VFX technology. So, with this in mind, it’s about damn time Ahmed Best got a little love from the Star Wars fandom—and LEGO is making sure that we don’t underestimate the power of Jar Jar anytime soon.
Disney and Lucasfilm announce new animated LEGO Star Wars series
On May 6, Lucasfilm dropped a surprise teaser for its upcoming Disney+ special, LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy. Co-created by showrunners Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit, the series stars Marsai Martin as Yesi Scala, Tony Revolori as Dev Greebling, Bobby Moynihan as the fan-favorite Jedi Bob, Michael Cusack as Servo, and even Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, among others.
Per StarWars.com, the four-part animated series will see the galaxy “completely mixed up when an ordinary nerf-herder, Sig Greebling (Gaten Matarazzo), unearths a powerful artifact called the Cornerstone from a hidden Jedi temple. He finds himself thrust into adventure in a new, wondrously wild and twisted version of the galaxy where good guys are bad, bad guys are good, and the fate of all depends on Sig becoming the hero who can put all the pieces back together.”
Jedi Bob, Ewok bounty hunters, Geonosian Jedi … this baby’s got it all. But most importantly, perhaps, is the introduction of Darth Jar Jar, who will yet again be voiced by Ahmed Best. The Sith lord gets his time to shine in the Rebuild the Galaxy trailer, taunting our heroes with a red lightsaber and a—absolutely hilarious—threat in the most Jar Jar way possible: “Mesa going to hurt yousa!” Even though LEGO Star Wars is generally considered non-canon, it is something of an acknowledgment in and of itself to see creatives bringing this idea to life. It was real to me, okay?!
Yep, LEGO is going full-on camp in its newest Star Wars special, and I, for one, absolutely cannot wait to see it. After all, Darth Jar Jar has been a popular fan theory for well over 20 years, with many suggesting that the Gungan was, in fact, a key player in Emperor Palpatine’s (Ian McDiarmid) master plan to destroy the Jedi. Given its enduring legacy, it’s amazing to see this headcanon coming to life onscreen after all these years, finally getting some much-deserved recognition from the higher-ups at Disney and Lucasfilm.
For those looking forward to seeing Darth Jar Jar in his full, animated LEGO glory, LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy will be available for streaming on Disney+ starting September 13, 2024.
(featured image: Disney+)
