Here’s What Happened to Jar Jar Binks After the Prequels
Warning: this post contains mild spoilers for the upcoming novel Star Wars Aftermath: Empire’s End.
After serving as the Gungan representative on Senator Padme Amidala’s Naboo delegation, and accidentally helping the rise of the Galactic Empire, not much is known about the ultimate fate of Jar Jar Binks.
The controversial Gungan’s screentime was significantly reduced due to poor reception after his introduction as comic-relief in The Phantom Menace. After making brief appearances in the subsequent sequels and in The Clone Wars series, Jar Jar is last seen attending Padme’s funeral in Revenge of the Sith.
Now if you’ve ever found yourself wondering what ever happened to the character, the third part of Chuck Wendig’s trilogy of Star Wars novels, Star Wars Aftermath: Empire’s End, finally details the bleak conclusion to Jar Jar’s story. The canon trilogy takes place after Return of the Jedi and chronicles various events around the galaxy prior to The Force Awakens.
In Empire’s End, an interlude chapter reveals that Jar Jar has been in exile as a literal clown, banished by his own people, and deeply regrets the poor decisions he’d made as a politician. Mashable quotes the following scene from the novel where a young refugee named Mapo encounters the Gungan:
“Meesa Jar Jar,” says the clown when Mapo introduces himself.
The clown distracts the orphan from his own sadness by popping his eyes and bulging his cheeks, but is hiding a sadness of his own.
“Jar Jar makin some uh-oh mistakens,” the Gungan says, explaining why he isn’t wanted anywhere either. “Desa hisen Naboo tink I help the uh-oh Empire.” He stares into the distance, suggesting he knows more than he’s saying.
Whether you’re a fan of Jar Jar or not, we can all agree that that’s a little bit dark even for a character like him. We’ll leave it up to fans if his fate is ultimately deserved after the backlash he’s received over the years.
Star Wars Aftermath: Empire’s End by Chuck Wendig will be available on February 21.
Drew Bagay
