| Jar Jar Binks | |
|---|---|
| Star Wars character | |
 | |
| First appearance | The Phantom Menace (1999) |
| Created by | George Lucas |
| Portrayed by | Ahmed Best (motion capture, some body close-ups, Episodes I–III) |
| Voiced by | Ahmed Best (all appearances except where noted) Phil LaMarr (three episodes of The Clone Wars, Lego: The Padawan Menace, and Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga) Trevor Devall (Lego: The Yoda Chronicles and Lego: Droid Tales) |
| In-universe information | |
| Species | Gungan |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | General in the Gungan Grand Army Representative of the Gungan race Senator of Chommell Sector (substituting for Padmé Amidala) Entertainer |
| Affiliation | Gungan Grand Army, Galactic Republic, Galactic Senate, Delegation of 2000, Galactic Empire, Imperial Senate, New Republic |
| Homeworld | Naboo |
Jar Jar Binks is a fictional character from the Star Wars saga created by George Lucas. A member of the Gungan race, Jar Jar appears throughout the Star Wars prequel trilogy—as a major character in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace and with a supporting role in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith—as well as having a role in the television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The first fully computer-generated supporting character in a live-action film, he has been voiced by Ahmed Best in most of his appearances, who also acted out the character with prosthetics prior to the CGI work. He also appears in various other media.
Jar Jar's primary role in Episode I was to provide comic relief for the audience. He was met with overwhelming dislike from both audiences and critics, and has been recognized as one of the most hated characters in Star Wars and the history of film in general, with some commentators arguing that the character was based on stereotypes of black people, especially Jamaicans. The hate affected Best personally, who rejected the idea that the character was based on racist stereotypes.[1][2][3]
In 2010, Adult Swim released Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III which included a sketch where Binks, voiced by Ahmed Best himself, revealed that he was a Sith Lord throughout the six films, and had manipulated Palpatine himself. Five years later, in 2015, a Reddit user posted a fan theory that Jar Jar was originally going to be revealed as a manipulative villain, but this plot point was removed due to the character's unpopularity. The theory gained popularity on the internet, and was even encouraged by Best, who implied that it could have been partially true.
The character's reception has changed as he has been championed by fans who had seen the prequels at the time of their release as children. He has also been defended by members of the prequels' production team.[4][5]
- ^ Marikar, Sheila; Heron, Liz. "The Top 10 Worst TV and Film Characters". ABC News. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
- ^ Kim, Wook (February 10, 2012). "10 Things We (Still) Kinda Hate About The Phantom Menace". Time. New York City: Meredith Corporation. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
- ^ Nordine, Michael (January 5, 2019). "Jar Jar Binks Actor Ahmed Best Opens Up About Racism-Fueled Backlash". IndieWire. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
- ^ Brooks, Dan. ""All Films Are Personal": An Oral History of Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace". StarWars.com. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
- ^ Parker, Ryan (July 6, 2018). "Jar Jar Binks Actor Thanks Fans for Support After Sharing He'd Once Considered Suicide". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 17, 2023.