5 Reasons Star Wars Should Confirm The Darth Jar Jar Theory (& 5 It Shouldn't)
There are countless fan theories about the Star Wars universe, but one of the most popular (and outlandish) is the “Darth Jar Jar” theory that suggests Jar Jar Binks’ clumsy personality was all an act and he was really the Sith puppet-master behind the fall of the Republic. And, there’s a surprising amount of evidence to support this theory.
While Jar Jar got sidelined in the back end of the prequel trilogy to appease the fans who viciously criticized the character’s introduction, it’s not too late for Lucasfilm to confirm this theory and completely revolutionize the way fans see the prequels.
10 Should: It Might Help To Spice Up The Sequel Era
As it stands, the sequel era isn’t a very exciting (or coherent) part of the Star Wars timeline. While the prequel and O.T. eras are filled with fascinating characters and conflicts, the sequel era replaced the Expanded Universe with a bunch of nostalgically rehashed storylines full of plot holes.
However, if Jar Jar Binks revealed his awesome Sith powers in the wake of the Empire’s fall, it could go a long way toward spicing up the sequel era with some interesting stories.
9 Shouldn’t: Jar Jar Is A Wildly Controversial Character
To say that Jar Jar Binks is a controversial character among Star Wars fans would be an understatement. While the younger viewers that George Lucas created the character for enjoyed his antics, some older fans used Jar Jar to symbolize their disappointment with the prequels.
Even bringing back Jar Jar at all in the Disney era would be a polarizing move, let alone revealing him to be some kind of legendary, all-powerful Sith Lord.
8 Should: The Theory Makes Sense (Surprisingly)
To the uninitiated, the concept of “Darth Jar Jar” might seem pretty out there, but there’s a surprising amount of evidence to back up this theory. For starters, it would make a lot of sense if Jar Jar’s absurd incompetence was all for show.
He can do Force user-style somersaults, his fighting style has been compared to zui quan, and he infiltrated the Senate and used his position to grant Palpatine absolute power, leading to the rise of the Empire. He could easily have been in on it all along.
7 Shouldn’t: It Would Negate His Friendships With Characters Like Anakin And Padmé
Throughout the prequel trilogy and later in The Clone Wars, Jar Jar developed close friendships with a bunch of major Star Wars characters, like Anakin, Padmé, and Obi-Wan.
Jar Jar has a heartfelt dynamic with these beloved heroes, and if it was revealed that he was a Sith Lord all along, it would negate all of the seemingly genuine feeling behind those friendships.
6 Should: Ahmed Best And George Lucas Have Both Hinted It Was Always The Plan
This fan theory started to really gain traction when Ahmed Best himself, the actor who played Jar Jar, supported it: “There’s a lot about [the Darth Jar Jar theory] that’s true. There are some things that are not true. Could Jar Jar have evolved into that? I think the answer is yes.”
George Lucas was less explicit about whether or not Jar Jar was destined to become a Sith Lord, but he has hinted at the character’s importance in the overall narrative: “Jar Jar is the key to all of this.” If both Best and Lucas are on board, Lucasfilm might as well go for it.
5 Shouldn’t: He Works Better As Goofy Comic Relief
Jar Jar was originally conceived as a goofy comic relief character, and he works best that way. Juvenile gags like an alien farting in Jar Jar’s face might not be to everybody’s taste, but kids find it hysterical.
There are plenty of iconic villains in the Star Wars universe, from Darth Vader to Emperor Palpatine to Grand Admiral Thrawn, and Jar Jar might not fit into that rogue's gallery, so it might be better to leave him as the goof of the prequels.
4 Should: It Could Explain The “Somehow” Of Palpatine’s Return
A huge part of the “Darth Jar Jar” theory is that Jar Jar was crucial to Palpatine’s plan to turn the galaxy into a dictatorship, and he was in on it from the beginning. When Palpatine was resurrected in The Rise of Skywalker, the best J.J. Abrams could do to explain it was: “Somehow, Palpatine returned.”
If Jar Jar is revealed to be a sort of Ebony Maw-esque assistant continuing the Emperor’s legacy and doing his bidding to get him cloned back to life, it could finally explain the “somehow” of Palpatine’s return.
3 Shouldn’t: It Would Radically Reframe The Prequels
While some Star Wars fans dismiss the prequels, others hold the movies close to their heart and rewatch them regularly. If Lucasfilm reveals Jar Jar to be a Sith Lord, then it’ll radically reframe the prequel trilogy and change the way fans view it.
Some of Disney’s Star Wars content has already undone elements of the original saga, like The Force Awakens ignoring Vader’s redemption and treating him as a villain.
2 Should: It Could Make Him A More Interesting Character
In a universe filled with rich, interesting, complex characters like Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Din Djarin, Jar Jar Binks stands out as a pretty one-note, one-dimensional character.
If he was retroactively turned into a sinister villain with mind-blowing Sith powers, then it would certainly make the character more interesting than he appears at first glance.
1 Shouldn’t: It Would Probably Divide The Fanbase Even More
The Star Wars fanbase is already divided enough as it is. They can’t agree on whether the prequels are any good or whether the sequels are any good, or if Han shot first, or if Ewoks are cute or annoying. The last thing this fanbase needs is another thing to passionately debate.
While revealing Darth Jar Jar would be a dream come true for some fans, it would be a waking nightmare for others. If Lucasfilm learned anything from The Last Jedi, it was to avoid anything too bold.