The Obi-Wan Kenobi Series Might Add This Controversial ‘Star Wars’ Character
Even though the most recent Star Wars movie has come and gone, there’s still a lot of great content coming fans’ way. It doesn’t seem like new films are around the corner, but two new series are in the works. Now, new rumors surrounding the Untitled Obi-Wan Kenobi series are saying that Jar Jar Binks is coming back, too.
There isn’t a ton that we know about the Obi-Wan Kenobi series, other than Ewan McGregor is returning and it’s reportedly filming this summer. But this familiar face could make sense to include.
Jar Jar Binks is rumored to appear on the Obi-Wan Kenobi series
According to the site Making Star Wars, Jar Jar will make an appearance on the show, as Kenobi “crosses paths” with the Gungan from Naboo. Jason Ward, the editor-in-chief of Making Star Wars, even says that CGI tests are already being done to give Jar Jar Binks a beard. Yep! Jar Jar will sport some new facial hair in addition to making his return since the film Revenge of the Sith. It’s not clear yet if Ahmed Best will reprise the role.
Ward states that it’s, of course, a rumor, but he’s also pretty sure it’ll be confirmed in the future. Apparently, Kenobi and Jar Jar “talk about the past” at some point. There are also rumors about eight-year-old versions of Luke and Leia being cast and maybe even Ahsoka Tano popping in. There are obviously a lot of routes this show could take, but these rumors are hinting at a few familiar faces making cameos.
What happened to Jar Jar after ‘Revenge of the Sith’?
Jar Jar Binks is controversial, only because some fans made him so. He’s been known as one of the least-liked Star Wars characters in the franchise. Regardless, he plays an important role in the prequels. Jar Jar was introduced in Episode I — The Phantom Menace as a bumbling, clumsy Gungan. He follows Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan around for a lot of the movie because he believes he owes Qui-Gon a debt for saving his life.
He goes on to help Senator Padmé Amidala in the Republic Senate on Coruscant and became a representative himself. This is where his story took a turn. He stood in for Padmé after she had to go into hiding back on Naboo in Attack of the Clones. Being the innocent guy he was, he was manipulated into giving Chancellor Palpatine emergency powers to establish an army for the Republic, which is where the Clone troopers came in.
While this was good in the short-term, it was the opposite of what Padmé was fighting for in the Senate with her leadership. And it ultimately gave Palpatine the muscle he needed in the war, and then in the Empire after the war ended. Because of this, and Jar Jar’s “hand” in aiding the Empire, he was cast out after Revenge of the Sith. About a year after Return of the Jedi, Jar Jar is still alive, but also still an outcast and performing in the streets of Naboo’s capital.
The ‘Untitled Obi-Wan Kenobi’ series is going to show the legendary Jedi at a tough point
Again, outside of rumors surrounding the Obi-Wan Kenobi series, we do know his mindset at this point in time. In an interview with Men’s Journal, McGregor said, “It will be interesting to take a character we know in a way and show him—Well, his arc will be quite interesting, I think, dealing with the fact that all the Jedi were slaughtered with the end of Episode III. It’s quite something to get over.”
In addition to his sad outlook at this point, McGregor is excited to play Kenobi at a point that’s closer to the character Alec Guinness played in the original trilogy. “I want to get closer and closer to how Obi-Wan felt while Alec Guinness was playing him,” he told Men’s Journal. “I feel like I’m grayer and nearer him in age, so it’ll be easier to do that.”
