The Disturbing Fate Of Jar Jar Binks Post Prequels

It wasn't all smiles and meesa's for the Gungan post-Revenge of the Sith.

Jar Jar
Disney

These days, there’s finally some love being shown for Jar Jar Binks and, more importantly, Ahmed Best – the man behind this most opinion-splitting of Star Wars characters.

After decades of hate and vitriol being thrown Best’s way, the actor is at a point where he’s being embraced by Star Wars fandom. But while we know Ahmed Best’s story and its happy ending, are you aware of the post-Revenge of the Sith story of Jar Jar Binks?

If you remember, Jar Jar was largely responsible for handing over control of the Galactic Senate to Palpatine in the prequel trilogy. And from there, Palpatine obviously used his position to decimate and dominate the galaxy as he spun the Galactic Senate into the Galactic Empire – complete with Darth Vader at his side.

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Not only is Binks seen as a major turn-off of the Star Wars prequel trilogy, but his actions are also regrettable in a narrative sense. If it wasn’t for Jar Jar Binks, would Palpatine have ever been able to rule the galaxy with a Dark Side-infused fist? If it wasn’t for Jar Jar Binks, would Anakin have been swayed by the lure of the Dark Side? If it wasn’t for Jar Jar Binks, would Ani, Padme, Luke, and Leia all have settled down on Tatooine to play happy families?

For those wondering how Jar Jar himself dealt with the grief and trauma caused by his actions, Chuck Wendig’s Star Wars: Aftermath trilogy of novels has the answer. More specifically, Wendig’s 2017 Aftermath: Empire’s End tale reveals that the Gungan became a lonely sole who was shunned by the masses due to his political blunders.

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Set between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, Empire’s End explains that Binks isolated himself on Naboo. Haunted and tormented by his own guilt, Jar Jar is described in the book as a sad clown-like figure who, despite his best attempts to be all smiles on the outside, is riddled with grief and inner suffering.

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Elsewhere, the majority of his own Gungan people believe that Binks knowingly assisted Palpatine and the Empire. An unwanted presence in his own homeland, the Aftermath trilogy paints a truly tragic picture where the fate of Jar Jar Binks is concerned.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.