George Lucas’ thoughts on Jar Jar’s post Revenge of the Sith fate
Have you ever wondered what George Lucas’ plans for Jar Jar Binks after Revenge of the Sith were? Of course! We all have. And there’s at least one instance where George actually spoke about what he thought happened to Jar Jar post Episode III.
In an article on mtv.com by Larry Carroll from May 2005, around the release of ROTS, George Lucas was asked about the fate of the lovable Gungan.
From the article:
“He goes back to Naboo and he’s a representative,” Lucas said of the controversial character, who is barely glimpsed in “Episode III.” “He probably stays on the council, he’s probably in the senate, because it becomes completely worthless. Senators are just for show, which they talk about in ‘Episode IV.’ Actually, in ‘Episode IV’ they get disbanded, so Jar Jar probably goes home to his wife and kids.”
Jar Jar and future wife Queen Julia?
While this might just be an instance of George being asked something and coming up with an answer off the top of his head, it is interesting to hear that in his mind Jar Jar remained a member of the Imperial Senate until the events of A New Hope, when the governing body is disbanded. Additionally George says that Jar Jar goes back home to his wife and kids. After this interview George would go on to create The Clone Wars, which introduced a love interest for Binks, Queen Julia. It stands to reason that this is the individual that George imagined Jar Jar would eventually marry and have children with.
Of course, George never put these events into any official material, so Lucasfilm doesn’t have to adhere to this fate for Jar Jar. In fact one book that’s currently considered canon indicates that Jar Jar was disgraced for his role in helping the Empire rise to power, and became a clown, performing on the streets of Naboo. Still, we here at the ITLJJBD website think that Jar Jar remaining a member of the Imperial Senate and having a family is a much more palatable fate for the character, and in our head canon that’s what happened. Additionally we feel he would probably be a secret leader of the Rebel Alliance, maybe even being a mentor to Princess Leia, inspiring her own rebellious actions.
This interview is also interesting because it gives some details on what George thought happened to Han and Leia:
“Han and Leia probably did get married,” Lucas conceded. “They settled down. She became a senator, and they got a nice little house with a white picket fence. Han Solo is out there cooking burgers on the grill. Is that a movie? I don’t think so.”
That’s not necessarily what we saw in the Sequel trilogy, where instead of cooking bantha burgers on the grill, Han instead was murdered by his evil son.
The article also gives some insight into George’s thoughts on whether the Stormtroopers we see in the original trilogy were still clones of Jango T. Fett. In George’s mind some of the Stormtroopers we see throughout the first three films were still Boba Fett’s brothers, but some were conscripted. We’re starting to see all of that play out now in The Bad Batch. Said Lucas in the interview: “the idea is that over time, there were new clone strains introduced, and then they even conscripted guys to be Storm Troopers. So it’s not just purely clones: It started out as clones, but then it got diluted over the years as they found out they could shanghai guys [more cheaply] than they could build clones.”
So what do you think? Do you think that Jar Jar was on the Senate when it got disbanded and had a wife and kids? Or do you think he became a sad street clown on the streets of Theed? Or perhaps something else? Let us know your thoughts!
Tags: jar jar, jar jar binks, jar jar binks fate, queen julia, star wars