Star Wars: Chuck Wendig Shares Fans' Response to Jar Jar's Fate

Earlier this year, Chuck Wendig's novel Star Wars Aftermath: Empire's End clarified the fate of everyone's favorite Gungan, Jar Jar Binks. The author recently revealed to The Star Wars Show that the reaction from fans to the former politician's fate has received mixed responses, with some readers appreciating the sendoff while others wished a fate worse than death for the character.

"Everybody reads that chapter differently," Wendig shared. "Some people look at it and they're like, 'What a beautiful thing you've done,' and some people think, 'You didn't punish him enough' or 'I loved how you hurt him' and I was like, no! I just wanted it to be an authentic, earnest look at the world of Jar Jar."

In the novel, which takes place between the events of Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, a chapter features a character named Mapo wandering the streets of Naboo. Mapo meets a street performer who claims he used to be a politician, but as he allowed the Empire to come into power, everyone turned on him, forcing him to resort to becoming a literal clown.

For nearly 20 years, Jar Jar has served as a consummate punchline for Star Wars fans, an easy go-to reference for one of the silliest things to come out of the films.

Lucas, however, still loves the character, despite the negative reaction from many fans. At the D23 expo back in 2015, Lucas explained, "I can't even begin to tell you how much of an influence Disney has had on me," He continued, "I will say one secret that nobody knows; not many people realize that Goofy was the inspiration for Jar Jar Binks. I know that you will look at him differently now. It's pretty obvious, actually, but, um, I love Goofy and I love Jar Jar."

At Star War Celebration back in April, Liam Neeson continued to poke fun at his CGI co-star, sending along a video message to fans where he joked, "I'm actually here on location in the Canadian Mountain; we're making a movie, a very official movie, about what happened to Jar Jar Binks. Spoiler alert: he did go to the dark said."

[H/T The Star Wars Show]