Much-maligned Star Wars character Jar Jar Binks will not appear in JJ Abrams’ new take on the beloved franchise, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, according to one of the film’s producers.
The character has been the subject of much fan debate as of late, largely due to one popular fan theory which paints him as the ultimate leader of the evil, force-using, Sith. The theory is extremely detailed, but largely centers on the fact that Binks is an extremely lucky individual in a universe in which, as Jedi Obi Wan Kenobi says to Luke Skywalker, “There is no luck.”
Binks, a digitally animated and extremely clumsy Gungan from the planet Naboo, was a key reason (among many) that fans of the original trilogy had trouble accepting Lucas’ prequel series as part of the hollowed cannon.
However, the fan theory regarding Binks hit a brick wall this weekend as producer and Disney’s head Star Wars honcho Kathleen Kennedy declared, “Jar Jar is definitely not in the movie,” at a press conference for the new film. The announcement was met with a mountain of cheering and applause from those in attendance, according to the Guardian.
For longtime Star Wars fans who didn’t want to believe the recent theory, the announcement should settle some nerves.
Director George Lucas originally included Binks in the Star Wars prequels to appeal to children and provide comic relief. The character proved controversial from the start, with audiences generally agreeing his on-screen antics were annoying, and some critics even calling his pseudo-Jamaican accent racist.
Following heavy criticism from fans regarding his presence in 1999’s Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Binks was given a reduced role in the second and third installments of the prequel trilogy, though he was still present in all three films.
Abrams has been outspoken about his feelings for the character, saying this summer that he considered killing him off on screen in the new film. Instead, it seems fans who hate Binks will get something even sweeter when the film hits theaters December 18: No Jar Jar at all.
