Rogue One: Alan Tudyk Says Jar Jar Binks Was An “Anomaly” And “Outlier”

When Lucasfilm resurrected Star Wars years ago to create a prequel trilogy to Episodes IV-VI, fans of the series were interested to see what they’d get. Many wanted a compelling, dark imagining of how Anakin Skywalker turned to the dark side after training under Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. They did get that wished granted, but it came a great cost thanks to Jar Jar Binks. The humanoid Gungan was universally panned by fans and critics, and it seems like his legacy still irks one of the stars of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

Hint: It’s Alan Tudyk.

The actor, who will play the droid K-2SO in the upcoming spin-off, recently talked to The Huffington Post about his feelings for Jar Jar. Unsurprisingly, they are not positive.

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“I don’t think that there will ever be closure,” Tudyk told the site. “[Jar Jar] was such an outlier ― not an outlier, an anomaly in the world ― that was backed away from as quickly as they could.”

If you are not immediately familiar with Jar Jar, then you may be grateful for your memory gap as a fan. The lambasted character made his debut in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace and left fans more than a little irritated. Jar Jar was made to give audiences a break from the franchise’s darker tones, but his comedic relief sat poorly amongst older fans who found the alien annoying.

Jar Jar was a major character in the first prequel film, but his role was increasingly cut as the trilogy progressed thanks to complains. Episode II featured Jar Jar giving an impassioned but ultimately harmful speech to the Senate when he persuaded his peers to give Chancellor Palpatine emergency powers. Of course, the politician would use his newfound title to overthrow the Senate and assume dictatorship over the fledgling Galactic Empire. By the time Episode III rolled around, there was little mention of the silly sidekick, and he was mostly seen mourning Padmé Amaidala’s death at her funeral.

Pop culture has taken Jar Jar’s smeared reputation to create countless jokes and viral memes which have all but ruined his character. And, apparently, Tudyk is not all that upset by the attack.

“Like, if I hear that [Jar Jar] voice one more time, I’m gonna lose it. I don’t mean to trash Jar Jar so much, but I guess I seem comfortable doing it,” he told the site. “I revered his movies, and he’s still part of the movies. And I think kids really liked him? So if it brought more people into Star Wars, fantastic. It led to Rogue One.”

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is set between the events of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and shortly before the events of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. In the film, resistance fighters embark on a daring mission to steal the Empire’s plans for the Death Star.

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Rogue One: A Star Wars Story stars Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Riz Ahmed, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Jiang Wen, Forest Whitaker, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk and Jonathan Aris. The film is directed by Gareth Edwards and written by Gary Whitta and Chris Weitz, from a story conceived by John Knoll.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story hits theaters on December 16, 2016.

[H/T] The Huffington Post