Jar Jar Binks to appear in Obi-Wan Kenobi series…with a beard?

Here’s a weird rumor for you today: Jar Jar Binks might return to the Star Wars Cinematic Universe, and he might do it sporting some facial hair.

This comes from Making Star Wars, a site that’s been pretty on point in the past when it comes to inside scoops on that galaxy far, far away — for example, they called that Leia flashback scene in The Rise of Skywalker long before the movie hit theaters.

According to editor Jason Ward, Binks will show up on the Obi-Wan Kenobi show coming to Disney+. That series will find Ewan McGregor returning to the role he played in the prequels, and will be set Revenge of the Sith but before A New Hope. That means Kenobi is in sad hermit mode, hiding out on Tatooine and kicking himself for not doing more to stop the rise of the Empire. Apparently, Jar Jar will join him in at least one scene where they’ll talk about the past.

Okay, but why the beard? According to Ward, “Jar Jar has a beard to reflect where he’s been and what his life has been like since they were all deceived by a great lie that ushered in the first Galactic Empire.” His beard is full of regrets.

Assuming this is true, we don’t know if actor Ahmed Best would return to play Jar Jar, but I don’t see why not. He’s still in good standing at Disney, and has even been tapped to host a Star Wars game show on Disney+.

Ahmed Best (Jar-Jar Binks) and Ewan McGregor at the premiere of “Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones” at the Chinese Theater in Los Angeles, Ca. Sunday, May 12, 2002. Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images.

The backlash the character of Jar Jar received back when The Phantom Menace came out in 1999 is damn near legendary. Fans hated him for his overly broad comedy, critics accused the character of being racially insensitive…it was bad. Best suffered most of all and has been frank about how the backlash negatively affected his mental health.

You know, nowadays, when Twitter mobs collectively attack targets on the regular, there are people out there who know how to weather that kind of storm. I can’t imagine how bewildering it must have been 20 years ago before this kind of thing had really entered the public conversation. I’m glad Best made it through and is thriving.

I fee like the character of Jar Jar has been rehabilitated a bit, too. I mean, he’s never going to be as popular as Han Solo or anything, but he doesn’t get the virulent hatred he used to. Maybe we’re all ready to see a different, more subdued take on Jar Jar.

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