Over the years, many have questioned the meaning behind Jar Jar Binks, the divisive character from Star Wars, but real fans have always known that he was more than just a clumsy alien. He was the beginning of the future of movies.
Even though to most, Jar Jar represents an annoying comic relief side character, to Ahmed Best, the character paved the way for modern entertainment. Hear him out, this makes sense!!
Best told The New York Times that “Jar Jar represents the possibility that whatever you got in your head, creatively, we can invent a future where this thing exists,” he said. “Just because no one has done it before, doesn’t mean it can’t be done.” Jar Jar debuted in 1999, before using motion capture was very popular.
The actor, who faced years of bullying and harassment after his role in the films, says he is proud that he made an impact on modern cinema, even if the character was not a fan-favorite. “I’m in there,” Best said, adding that he paved the way for digital characters to interact with actual humans. “You can’t have Gollum without Jar Jar. You can’t have the Na’vi in Avatar without Jar Jar. You can’t have Thanos or the Hulk without Jar Jar. I was the signal for the rest of this art form, and I’m proud of Jar Jar for that, and I’m proud to be a part of that. I’m in there!”
This just proves that in 50 years, Jar Jar Binks will be in the history textbooks as the CGI pioneer. Nobody will even remember Kylo Ren.