Did LEGO just canonise Darth Jar Jar?

13/01/202413/01/2024 Rachael Davies 1657 Views 0 Comments

The LEGO Group might have just teased the long-awaited canonisation of one of the wildest Star Wars theories out there: Darth Jar Jar.

The recent swathe of LEGO Star Wars rumours refers to one minifigure that could have huge ramifications for the entirety of LEGO Star Wars canon and theory history. One rumoured minifigure in 75389 Dark Millennium Falcon might have just canonised a theory that has caused division in the Star Wars fandom for decades.

Before we can dig into how real or not this theory is, we need to take it back to the very beginning. Introducing: the infamous Jar Jar Binks.

The Gungan everyone loved to hate in Star Wars

Suffice to say, when Jar Jar Binks first entered the world of Star Wars in Episode 1, adult fans weren’t big fans. From the annoying way he talked to his general ineptitude that mean Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan were constantly having to save him, the response to the Gungan was a hard ‘no’ following the release of the first prequel film.

His role was massively reduced as the prequel trilogy went on, still making appearances but playing much more of a sideline role. Where he was a main character alongside the Jedi and Padme in Episode 1, he was relegated to a busy diplomat, most often seen but not heard padding alongside Padme in his robes. Jar Jar was likely intended to be a source of comic relief, with a goofy voice that appealed to children, but the vast majority of audiences did not respond well.

The criticism of the character was so bad that the actor who voiced Jar Jar, Ahmed Best, received enough criticism directed at him and his performance that he contemplated suicide. This sadly isn’t rare among the Star Wars community; it seems that with every new era of Star Wars, vitriol is directed at one actor or another, with actor Kelly Marie Tran (who played Rose Tico in The Last Jedi) removing herself from social media to avoid the abuse she was receiving online from Star Wars fans.

It took several years, likely when those who were children watching the prequels grew up, for Jar Jar to become a more popular character – or at least not universally hated. Happily, this also translated into a triumphant return for Best as well, making an appearance in The Mandalorian as Jedi Kelleran Beq.

Everybody loves a bad guy

With fans slowly coming round to Jar Jar Binks, people began to examine his character more and more. The beauty of a franchise like Star Wars that spans decades is that fans have plenty of time to pick apart every move a character makes – leading to some truly wild fan theories.

This is where Darth Jar Jar comes into the mix. Credit to the most detailed fan theory has to go to Lumpawarroo on reddit but plenty of people have added and expanded upon the theory over the years.

The theory posits that Jar Jar’s apparent clumsiness is all an act and that he’s actually a Sith mastermind with power to rival even that of Palpatine’s himself. We know, we know – just stick with us on this.

Much like how Shiv Palpatine hid his Sith nature under a guise of kindness for years, both Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi dismiss Jar Jar almost immediately in Episode 1, put off by his clumsiness and apparent stupidity. In fact, while Jar Jar might knock things over while walking, he also consistently avoids any real trouble in battles and shows impressive dexterity, leaping around on his over-large feet – or powered by the Force? Indeed, Yoda employs a similarly tactic, letting people believe he’s slow and weak, only to surprise with a rapid attack.

By the time we get to Episode 2, Jar Jar has become a junior political figure in the Senate – an impressive position for one so apparently stupid. Does he have friends in high places – like Palpatine perhaps? Was his involvement on Naboo a test from the Sith Lord and his later power in the Senate a reward for getting closer to Anakin Skywalker, the future Chosen One?

Most importantly, Jar Jar was instrumental in convincing the Senate to give Palpatine absolute power during a state of intergalactic emergency – the nail in the coffin for galactic democracy. Instead of being a misled do-gooder, perhaps this is a sign that Jar Jar was actually in league with Palpatine all along.

Even within universe, there’s evidence within the canon book, Star Wars: The Legends of Luke Skywalker by Ken Liu, that those on Naboo began to suspect Jar Jar, with rumours flying that he was in league with the Empire. What were these rumours based on? Did the people of Naboo know something that hasn’t yet been revealed to the real-world audience?

There’s still more evidence to be found in the words of two real people who are arguably closest to Jar Jar Binks: George Lucas and Ahmed Best. George Lucas once claimed that Jar Jar was his favourite Star Wars character, referring to him as the “key” to the whole saga in the making-of documentary for Episode 1. Best later posted in a now-deleted tweet that “it feels really good when the hidden meaning behind the work is seen, no matter how long it takes.” While he could have been referring to the surge in popularity around Jar Jar, could he also be subtly referring to the Darth Jar Jar theory? Who knows…

Is a canon Darth Jar Jar finally coming?

Now, all of this lies firmly in the world of speculation – and many people wholly discredit the theory as a whole. However, it might not be as wild as you think, judging from some recent LEGO Star Wars rumours, believed to tie into a potential What If…?-style Star Wars show that explores alternate timelines in the galaxy far, far away. This dark timeline includes 75389 Dark Millennium Falcon, now believed to be a set coming this year according to rumours sourced from Instagram user 1414falconfan.

Included in the description is a Gungan in a blue outfit. While it’s not yet been confirmed to be Jar Jar himself, other characters featured are Dark Rey, Darth Vader in white armour, evil C-3PO, and evil Chewbacca. Essentially, the moralities of a number of key Star Wars characters have been flipped – and that could finally result in the canonisation of an evil Jar Jar Binks – in one reality or another.

If it follows the lead of Marvel’s What If…?, this could mean that the Darth Jar Jar theory has been true all along – only in an alternate Star Wars universe. We’ve all been disregarding the theory for years but if it’s concrete enough to warrant a minifigure, then perhaps the theorists have been closer to the truth than anyone’s ever given them credit for.

Featured image: Lucasfilm

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Rachael Davies

I write about all the very best fandoms – and that means LEGO, of course. Spending so much time looking at and talking about LEGO sets is dangerous for my bank balance, but the LEGO shelves are thriving. You win some, you lose some.