Blast from a Previous Time: Star Wars Insider #43
Star Wars Insider #43 is the April/May 1999 issue of the magazine, meaning it was the current issue when The Phantom Menace was released in theaters on May 19th of that year. As such it has a number of articles and features related to the film, and some of them feature Jar Jar Binks.
The prequel update in the issue is a series of photos of the main characters from Episode I. Jar Jar appears on the fifth page, only after Darth Maul, Qui-Gon Jinn, Anakin Skywalker, and Obi-Wan Kenobi, demonstrating just how important his character is in the film.
The text on the picture describes him as “The ever-nosy Jar Jar Binks.” Nosy is an interesting adjective for Jar Jar, and not necessarily one that we feel is accurate. Curious? Maybe. Nosy? Not really.
Also in this Insider is an article discussing the then recent January 1999 Vanity Fair Star Wars issue, mentioning the groundbreaking addition, by ILM, of Jar Jar Binks into two photos by Annie Leibovitz. One of those photos is the cover photo of the magazine, which can be seen in the below image.
This is, as far as we can tell, the first, and only, time that a Gungan has graced the cover of Vanity Fair.
Tags: jar jar, jar jar binks, star wars, star wars insider