Let the reclamation of Lucasfilm's clumsiest character commence.
On Friday's episode of Clone Wars, Jar Jar Binks becomes a Jedi. In an interstellar case of mistaken identity, the half-wit Naboo native dons the cloak, teams up with the first trilogy's bumbler C-3PO, and saves Amidala from separatists who think he's a master of The Force.
"I wanted to find a middle ground between the funny side of Jar Jar and heroic redemption," writer Kevin Rubio said in a press release about Friday's new episode, "Bombad Jedi" (preview clip embedded). "He is a fish out of water, and, yeah, he can be goofy and stupid, but in context, it works."
It's been hard to work Jar Jar Binks into the Star Wars multiverse ever since he debuted in The Phantom Menace, only to nearly disappear from the new trilogy altogether. That is, except for the odd funeral appearance or legislative sellout to Palpatine that paves the way for the entire Galactic Empire clusterfrak.
But Binks has been slowly making his way back into fandom's good graces, starring as a jerk in *Robot Chicken'*s spoofs and now this clever revisionism.
And why not? The impressive Clone Wars series has so far resuscitated battle droids, Toydarians and the clones themselves -- giving them all newfound reasons for being -- so why not other awkward entries? I can think of a few more Star Wars mistakes that Clone Wars could revise into triumphs. Can you?
Star Wars: The Clone Wars airs Friday at 9 p.m. EST on Cartoon Network.
Photo courtesy Cartoon Network
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