A strange nostalgia has cropped up over the past year for the Star Wars prequel trilogy. There’s a couple of reasons for that. It’s been 17 years since the maligned films debuted so kids who grew up not knowing any better are now adults who can blog about their childish love for the tale of young Anakin Skywalker. But beyond that, thanks to a masterful marketing job from Lucasfilm, there’s just a sweeping nostalgia for all things Star Wars. There’s now a well-publicized petition to get George Lucas to return to the franchise. And there’s rumors that Hayden Christensen might return. But don’t let that out-of-control nostalgia extend to Jar Jar Binks because, according to actor Ahmed Best, the clumsy Gungan isn’t coming back.
“No, I think I’ve done my damage,” Best said when asked if he’d ever return to the franchise. “Yeah. I’m good with where I stand in the Star Wars universe. I don’t need to do that.” But what if Lucasfilm asked him directly? “I’d say ‘No,’” Best responded. “I’m not really interested in coming back. I did what I did, I thought it was great, I thought it was fun, and now it’s time to move on.”
Even without his involvement, the ghost of Jar Jar Binks has been looming over the Star Wars franchise this year. J.J. Abrams joked that he actually considered putting a Binksian skeleton into the ruined sands of Jakku as an Easter egg for eagle-eyed fans. “I have a thought about putting Jar Jar Binks’s bones in the desert there,” he told his crew in front of Vanity Fair. Everyone laughed, but Abrams said, “I’m serious! Only three people will notice but they’ll love it.” Jar Jar’s bones may not have made it in, but he lives on in the heart of his creator. Lucas recently told Vanity Fair—somewhat cheekily—that the unpopular Binks was his favorite character. And strangest of all, some very devoted Star Wars fans have concocted an intricate theory that casts Binks as a nefarious Sith Lord.
What’s clear from all this Binksian chatter is that even as the memory of the prequel trilogy begins to fade and Best continues to distance himself from the Star Wars universe, the memory of Jar Jar will live on.
