WARNING – The video you see below contains the death of Jar Jar Binks. It’s highly disturbing to hear those final frantic Gungan screams of terror. Just think about what you’re celebrating for a moment, that is, if you’re happy for this made-up creature’s death.
Yes, that’s a deleted scene that was edited by The Phantom Editor. Obi-wan and Qui-Gon Jinn, two Jedi geniuses, don’t know how to operate a watercraft and decide to emerge ten yards away from a dangerous waterfall. Realizing their blunder by turning their heads, the two Jedis shoot a penetrating hook into a brick wall and proceed to grapple across to safety. In a state of panic and absent mindedness, Mr. Binks hesitates while the watercraft, pushed by the force of water, slips and falls over the waterfall. In the last ten seconds of the video, we see the watercraft slowly plummeting towards jagged rocks below as Mr. Binks screams for his life. The impact sounds more like a body crunching and contorting than a metal submarine ship crashing. Thankfully, it never made the final cut, but some deranged fans still continued to comment, saying things like: “I don’t care if it makes kids cry. That was the Star Wars we deserved.”
Since his film debut in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace on May 19th, 1999, Jar Jar Binks has suffered from a lot of criticism, blamed for everything from the Star Wars franchise jumping the shark to allegations of racism because of his Caribbean accent. In 1999, Mr. Binks received the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor along with three awards from the Stinkers Bad Movie Awards for Worst Supporting Actor, Most Botched Comic Relief, and Worst Screen Debut.
In regards to those allegations of racism, George Lucas said an interview with BBC Two’s Newsnight back in 1999 that, “How in the world you could take an orange amphibian and say that he’s a Jamaican? It’s completely absurd. Believe me, Jar Jar was not drawn from a Jamaican, from any stretch of the imagination.”
And like the Ewoks before him (or after him, depending on which timeline you’re following), Jar Jar was accused of excessive commercialization geared towards young children who might have wanted to see some comic relief. “The movies are for children but they don’t want to admit that. In the first film they absolutely hated R2 and C3-PO. In the second film they didn’t like Yoda and in the third one they hated the Ewoks… and now Jar Jar is getting accused of the same thing.” Lucas added.
Thankfully, Mr. Binks never died, but his spotlight drastically diminished in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. And though he may not be seen often, Mr. Binks’ actions include everything from helping save his own planet to giving a speech in the Galactic Senate in favor of granting Chancellor Palpatine enough power to create the Empire.
Mr. Binks is debatably the second most vile and annoying creature that George Lucas ever conceived.
(Pictures via Starwars.com, Amazon.com, WikiCommons)
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