Star Wars Redeems Jar Jar Binks With A New Phantom Menace Scene

Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Phantom Menace 25th Anniversary Special #1

Summary Jar Jar Binks gets redemption by providing encouragement to Anakin, showcasing a more serious and heartfelt side to the Gungan.

Binks was more than just comedic relief in The Phantom Menace, offering support and hope to others between scenes.

Jar Jar's redemption may extend to his potential involvement in saving Grogu from Order 66, which would further redeem his character beyond being a source of comic relief.

Star Wars' Jar Jar Binks gets some much-needed redemption for his role in The Phantom Menace. Having been saved by Qui-Gon Jinn during the Trade Federation's initial invasion of Naboo, Jar Jar becomes the surprise companion of the Jedi Master and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi, citing the sacred Gungan life debt as his obligation to stay by Qui-Gon's side. While this results in Binks becoming a source of ongoing comedic relief throughout the film, a new canonical story does help redeem the controversial Star Wars character.

As seen in Marvel Comics' new Phantom Menace 25th Anniversary Special #1 by Greg Pak and Wil Silney features never-before-seen and canonical moments in the Star Wars timeline which take place before, during, and after the events of the first prequel trilogy film. To that end, a new interaction between Jar Jar and young Anakin Skywalker is revealed following the boy's testing by the Jedi Council. Discouraged by the Jedi Council's concern and caution to permit his Jedi training, Binks provides some heartfelt encouragement with a scene even the biggest Jar Jar haters would have a hard time criticizing:

Because the Jedi Council could sense the fear and emotional attachments already present within younger Skywalker who was much older than the age when Jedi training typically begins, Anakin believed he might never become a Jedi. However, Jar Jar encourages Anakin, confirming that the boy's fears are signs that he ultimately has a good heart.

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Jar Jar Gets To Have A Heartfelt Moment With Anakin

Not Just Comedic Relief For Phantom Menace

At the end of the day, Jar Jar Binks did exactly what the character was intended for when George Lucas created him for The Phantom Menace. Jar Jar was meant for younger viewers, a source of slapstick comedy as the clumsy Gungan found himself in one misadventure after another. To that end, actor Ahmed Best delivered this in spades with his portrayal of Binks, absolutely nailing exactly what Jar Jar was meant to provide. However, Binks certainly became a point of contention for many fans following the 1999 release of The Phantom Menace.

It's very exciting to see a rare and more serious moment where Jar Jar is shown providing key encouragement to the movie's most important character. He offers support when Anakin needs it most, his entire life trajectory having become completely upended and very uncertain. In many ways, the same was true for Binks himself who only a few days prior had been an outcast living in the swamps of Naboo. As such, this new issue shows a rare side of Jar Jar Binks, offering volumes in the way of redeeming his character. He's not always just the comic relief (or someone who's later manipulated by the Sith).

Jar Jar Binks May Have Done More For The Jedi Than We Realize

Did He Save Grogu?

It's also worth noting that Jar Jar's redemption may go beyond this single moment in this new Phantom Menace special issue. The Mandalorian season 3 featured a key Order 66 flashback where the child Grogu was saved by Jedi Master Kelleran Beq (played by Ahmed Best). Fleeing the besieged Jedi Temple, the duo were pursued by clone troopers before they climbed aboard a royal Naboo cruiser, sent by unknown contacts of Beq's.

Seeing how Padmé was preoccupied with Anakin's corruption to the dark side, it's been theorized that Jar Jar himself may have helped save Grogu by offering assistance to Beq, albeit off-screen. Hopefully, Star Wars will one day confirm Jar Jar's involvement in Grogu's rescue, further continuing his redemption in the Star Wars timeline as seen here in this new issue.

The Phantom Menace 25th Anniversary Special #1 is available now from Marvel Comics.