According to Ahmed Best, the King of Pop approached George Lucas about playing the role of Jar Jar Binks in Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace.
[toggler title=”TL;DR” ]According the Ahmed Best, who played the role of one of the most hated characters in the Star Wars universe, the King of Pop himself had approached George Lucas while he was directing Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace in hopes of acquiring the role of Jar Jar Binks. The director turned Michael Jackson down. “George wanted to do it in CGI,” Best explained. “My guess is ultimately Michael Jackson would have been bigger than the movie, and I don’t think he wanted that.”[/toggler]
[dropcap size=small]W[/dropcap]ith the revival of the Star Wars franchise back in 1999, it isn’t that big of a surprise that many celebrities would want to be a part of the Star Wars Universe. What is surprising is that the King of Pop himself wanted to be one of the most hated characters in the Star Wars universe. Not just the voice for Jar Jar Binks, but Michael Jackson wanted to use prosthetics and makeup to play the role.
This unanticipated news comes from the man who played Jar Jar Binks himself, Ahmed Best. Ahmed Best said that Michael Jackson showed up backstage at a concert with George Lucas and co-star Natalie Portman. “George introduced me as ‘Jar Jar’ and I was like, ‘That’s kind of weird.’ Michael was like, ‘Oh. OK.’ I thought, ‘What is going on?'” said Ahmed Best.
It wasn’t until Ahmed Best was at an after party that he asked George Lucas about what went down backstage between George Lucas and Michael Jackson. George Lucas explained that the interaction happened because he disagreed with Michael Jackson over how Jar Jar Binks should be brought to life in Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace. “George wanted to do it in CGI,” Best explained. “My guess is ultimately Michael Jackson would have been bigger than the movie, and I don’t think he wanted that.”
So how does the man who played one of the most hated, if not the most hated characters in the Star Wars, feel about the fans reaction to his character?
“At the end of the day, it is the movie business, and if the character doesn’t work for the people who watch the movie then the character doesn’t work”
Sounds like Ahmed Best didn’t take the criticism of his character personally, which is great considering there is an online petition for J.J. Abrams to not include Jar Jar Binks in Star Wars Epsiode VII: The Force Awakens. However, J.J. Abrams is a smart guy, so we shouldn’t have all that much to worry about. Right?
Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens hits theaters December 18th of this year.
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