For now, while it won’t be the canon ending for the character, Best is returning to Jar Jar in the upcoming LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy animated special (Sept. 13), specifically the “Darth Jar Jar” version of the Gungan inspired by a popular fan theory about his involvement in the Sith plot against the Jedi. Check out Lego Darth Jar Jar in the trailer below:
As Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace celebrates its 25th anniversary, many involved in the production have paused to take stock of the movie’s unlikely history. After the unprecedented excitement that greeted The Phantom Menace in 1999, the first new Star Wars movie in 16 years, the movie opened to angry rejection from critics and older fans, only to be reclaimed today by the film’s intended audience, the children of the late ’90s and early 2000s.
Best describes that period during the pre-release excitement as being in a bubble, which popped almost immediately. “So when you come out of that bubble, you’re like, ‘Oh man, everybody’s going to enjoy what we just did, because if you feel the way we felt while we were creating, it’s going to be amazing.’”
Of course, nothing could live up to the level of expectation that had accrued during the production of The Phantom Menace. “But there were already kind of preconceived ideas about it, and there is already bubbling under, this online hatred. It was already being talked about even before the movie dropped.”
However, Best also acknowledges a certain amount of risk involved with his take on the Gungan. He shared with People the trepidation he felt before debuting the character’s voice during a table read. “I was just like, ‘Everybody sounds so good. Am I going to do this voice or not?’ And then I see the character name coming up and I was like, ‘F— it.’ And I just do it,” he explained. “And everybody in the room goes crazy for it. So I was like, ‘OK, all right. I got that one out. I’m supposed to be here now.’”
Despite the positive reaction in the room, critics and audiences zeroed in on Jar Jar as the worst part of a disappointing movie. As a result, Best became a target for hate online, something that took a toll on his mental health. Both his career and his spirits suffered because of the fallout, something that took years to overcome.
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