Summary
- George Lucas’ wisdom helped Ahmed Best endure backlash, predicting opinions on Jar Jar Binks would change over time.
- Best credits Jar Jar Binks for paving the way for modern CGI characters in film, influencing superhero movies with its groundbreaking use.
- Despite initial hate, Best has reprized the Jar Jar Binks role 17 times, and appeared in person as Jedi Kelleran Beq in
The Mandalorian
.
Ahmed Best, who played Jar Jar Binks in Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace, has revealed the nugget of George Lucas wisdom that got him through decades of online backlash targeted at his breakout role. Jar Jar Binks was Best’s first major role, and his second credited acting gig (following an extra role in the 1989 film Lean on Me). When The Phantom Menace was released in ’99, Binks was at the center of an overwhelming majority of the film’s criticism. Best has previously described the time as the lowest point of his life. After just having received his big break, the (then infantile) internet was overrun with criticism about his first major role.
However, in a recent interview with Inverse, Ahmed Best revealed that George Lucas, the mastermind behind the Star Wars franchise, knew that public opinions about Jar Jar Binks (and the prequel trilogy in general) would change over time. Best said those words got him through the tough time in his career. Best recalled George Lucas telling him, “thirty years from now, nobody’s going to be talking about this.” The actor said it was hard to heed the director’s words at the time, but has since come to understand what Lucas meant, and feels incredibly grateful for his support. Best continued:
“It was tough to realize that in the moment, but now here we are, 25 years later, and he was right.”
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Best has since reprized the role of Jar Jar Binks 17 times following the character’s debut, voicing the iconic Gungan in films, animated TV, video games, and even in multiple episodes of Robot Chicken. Like many aspects of the prequel trilogy, many Star Wars fans have grown to love Jar Jar Binks, and appreciate him for the comic relief he is (especially in a film filled with dialogue about trade routes). While Jar Jar Binks is an entirely CG character, Best was also recently given the opportunity to lend more than just his voice to the Star Wars universe, appearing in person as Jedi Kelleran Beq in season 3 of The Mandalorian.
Ahmed Best Attributes Modern CGI to Jar Jar Binks
Despite being hated by fans at the time, The Phantom Menace was groundbreaking within the industry because it featured the first full CGI character, in Jar Jar Binks. Lucas’ prequel trilogy still receives a lot of hate from fans due to its over-reliance on CGI, but the trilogy’s influence on modern cinema is undeniable. Best also discussed this during the interview. In the modern age of superhero films, which are filled with CGI characters, monsters, and settings, Best believes none of this would have happened without Jar Jar. The actor said:
“You don’t get the Na’vi, or Thanos, or Gollum without Jar Jar first. Everyone learned from our successes, and even more so, everyone learned from our mistakes. When it comes to these characters working in movies, it goes back to George Lucas and ILM [Industrial Light & Magic]. I don’t think we get enough credit for that, to be honest.”
Best is due to return to the role two more times (and potentially again in the future), firstly for the LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy video game – which is finally giving fans Darth Jar Jar (a long-running fan theory), and again for Star Wars: Detours, a comedy series looking at some of the franchise’s beloved characters during their downtime.
