Star Wars Novelist Talks About Fans’ Reactions To Jar Jar’s Fate

Star Wars fans have always been wary of Lucasfilm's attempts at bringing cute things into the franchise – partially because of the Ewoks, and partially because of the comic relief that was supposed to be the bumbling Gungan, Jar Jar Binks.

Jar Jar has drawn a lot of flak ever since his appearance in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, and even until now the foolish Gungan remains the butt of most jokes in the Star Wars community.

Though some believe that the sequel trilogy's Supreme Leader Snoke is actually Jar Jar Binks in disguise, Chuck Wendig's novel Star Wars Aftermath: Empire's End actually shed light on the fate of the Gungan.

Talking with the hosts of The Star Wars Show, Chuck Wendig revealed how fans reacted to the politician's fate in his book, explaining while some felt like the author wrote a beautiful end to Jar Jar's story, others felt like he should have been hurt more.

"Everybody reads that chapter differently. Some people look at it and they're like, 'What a beautiful thing you've done,' and some people think, 'You didn't punish him enough' or 'I loved how you hurt him' and I was like, no! I just wanted it to be an authentic, earnest look at the world of Jar Jar."

For those who haven't read the novel, the end for Jar Jar takes place between the events of Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. In the chapter, readers are introduced to a character called Mapo going around Naboo. There he meets street performer who says he used to be a politician, but because he accidentally allowed the Empire to rise to power, everyone had turned against him. In the end, he had no choice but to become a clown.

You can read the chapter down here:

Since children started coming in by the shipload as refugees, the Gungan has served them, performing for the kids once or twice a day. He does tricks. He juggles. He falls over and shakes his head as his eyes roll around inside their fleshy stalks. He makes goofy sounds and does strange little dances. Sometimes it's the same performance, repeated.

Sometimes the Gungan does different things, things you've never seen, thing's you'll never see again. Just a few days ago, he splashed into the fountain's center, then pretended to have the streams shoot him way up in the air. He leapt straight up, then back down with a splash. And he leapt from compass point to compass point, back and forth, before finally conking his head on the edge and plopping down on his butt. Shaking his head. Tongue wagging. All the kids laughed. Then the Gungan laughed, too.

The clown, they called him "Bring the clown. We want to see the clown. We like it how he juggles glombo shells, or spits fish up in the air and catches them, or how he dances around and falls on his butt."

The adults, though. They don't say much about him. Or to him. And no other Gungans come to see him, either. Nobody even says his name.

It's a pretty fitting end for Jar Jar, being ostracized the way he is. How about you? How do you think Jar Jar's story should have ended?

Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below.

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