Summary

• The Darth Jar Jar theory suggests Jar Jar Binks is secretly a Sith Lord, due to subtle hints throughout the Star Wars prequel trilogy.
• The Star Wars Ring Theory draws parallels between Jar Jar and Yoda, in which Jar Jar may be a dark master.
• Despite not coming true in canon, the persistent Darth Jar Jar theory will be acknowledged in LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy.

Jar Jar Binks is notorious as the bumbling buffoon of the Star Wars movies. However, Star Wars is getting ready to debut an alternate version of the character.

The Disney+ special LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy will see the lives of iconic characters mixed up and radically altered. As wild as that premise sounds, the most shocking reveal comes at the end of the teaser trailer when a Gungan wielding a red lightsaber steps out of a black Millennium Falcon and is identified as "Darth Jar Jar." This may seem like something that could only happen in a LEGO Star Wars special, but it has been popular among fans for many years and is known as the Darth Jar Jar theory.

The Darth Jar Jar Theory Explained

The Darth Jar Jar theory was first proposed by the Redditor Lumpawarroo, shortly before the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. He noticed several signs of Jar Jar displaying flashes of unusual physical coordination, such as performing somersaults normally associated with Force s. He also noted that several of Jar Jar's action sequences resemble a martial art called Zui Quan, or Drunken Fist Wushu. There are even a handful of moments where Jar Jar shows preternatural awareness - dodging blaster shots before they're fired, or knowing a droideka is behind him when it's been completely silent.

Like any Jedi or Sith, Jar Jar tends to gesture with his hands when attempting to persuade others - and, significantly, he performs hand gestures in scenes where he's promoted to General or Senator. He even uses his hands in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, in the scene where he persuades the Senate to hand control of the galaxy over to Palpatine. Given this is the case, then - combined with Jar Jar's occasional physicality - it hints Jar Jar could be a Force too, perhaps even the Sith Lord Darth Jar Jar.

Jar Jar's mouth also seems to subtly move in The Phantom Menace when Captain Panaka says "The queen wishes it," and when Pé says "Well, I don't approve," almost as if he is using the Force to influence what they say.

That raises the disturbing possibility that Palpatine and Jar Jar were collaborators. They originated from the same planet, and Jar Jar serves Palpatine's purposes on many occasions. In The Phantom Menace, Jar Jar plants the idea that the Queen is hot in Anakin's mind, and the Queen decides to return to Naboo after Jar Jar waves his hand while talking about the Gungan army. In Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, Jar Jar is still in Palpatine's company, not something that would happen if he were as useless and embarrassing as the films portray him to be.

Was Darth Jar Jar The Mirror Of Yoda?

At first glance, all this seems pretty unlikely, but the equally popular Star Wars "Ring Theory" makes another compelling case. George Lucas said that he considered the Star Wars saga to be poetry, famously stating during the production of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, "It’s like poetry, they rhyme. Every stanza kinda rhymes with the last one." According to the Ring Theory, the Star Wars narrative is a loop that doubles back on itself structurally. Literature traditionally does this with keywords, but Ring Theory suggests Lucas did it using a broader story structure and cinematic language.

The Empire Strikes Back introduced viewers to Jedi Master Yoda, a character deliberately designed to represent the fairy-tale trope of someone you would otherwise overlook secretly being a wizard. Yoda was initially presented as whimsical, mercurial, and frankly annoying in of his sense of humor, but this was all an act to test Luke Skywalker's patience. All that raises the question of where Jar Jar Binks - whimsical, mercurial, and with an annoying sense of humor - was an inversion of Master Yoda. The apparent fool is actually the master wizard, but this time a dark master allied with the Sith.

Was This Really George Lucas' Plan?

Of course, this probably wasn't George Lucas' plan at all. He intended Jar Jar to appeal to children, so it's highly doubtful that he'd have written the character as a secret Dark Lord of the Sith. All the unusual flashes of acrobatic skill and so on are presumably due to Gungan biology rather than intentional subterfuge, and the hand gestures likely represent Lucas' desire for Jar Jar to have a sense of physicality to him. The Zui Quan-style martial arts aren't a subtle secret but really are slapstick, coming from the same man who created the Ewoks.

In an interview with EW, Jar Jar Binks actor Ahmed Best revealed there was a deleted scene featuring the Gungan. "In Revenge of the Sith, there was a scene that was cut where I'm walking down a long pathway with Ian McDiarmid before he is turned into the Emperor," Best recalled, "and Palpatine kind of thanks Jar Jar for putting him in power." It's an undeniably dark moment, showing the evolution of Jar Jar from a fun-loving kids' character into a manipulated politician. "But yeah," he added, "George’s take on it is Jar Jar is now just a politician.”

The Star Wars 7 Jar Jar/Snoke Theory

The Darth Jar Jar theory returned when Star Wars: The Force Awakens was released when fans speculated that Jar Jar was secretly Supreme Leader Snoke. The new would-be galactic tyrant seemed set up to be somebody important, leading to intense interest in his backstory. Was he really a new character, or did he have secret ties that ran back through the Star Wars franchise? Fans picked up on some vague references to early concept art for Snoke, which described him as having a hooded head like a cobra and thick, bulbous lips, and suggested that description corresponded with Jar Jar.

The hologram in The Force Awakens was easily explained away as a fake image, used by Snoke to conceal his real appearance. Of course, Star Wars: The Last Jedi put an end to that theory when Kylo Ren betrayed and killed his master, while Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker revealed that Snoke was created by Palpatine. Supreme Leader Snoke was indeed a new character and most certainly didn't have any ties to Jar Jar Binks.

The Legacy Of The Darth Jar Jar Theory

Despite the Darth Jar Jar theory never coming to fruition in Star Wars canon, this hasn't stopped dedicated fans from continuing to speculate. This persistence has now culminated in LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy, an extraordinary case of a popular fan theory being acknowledged in an official Star Wars release, even if it's not canon. It will be the closest thing to a definitive Darth Jar Jar that Star Wars fans will ever get, and it will be fascinating to see what the creative team does with the idea as the LEGO Star Wars brand celebrates its 25th anniversary.

LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy will release on Disney+ on September 13.