All nine Star Wars movies culminated in the launch of The Rise of Skywalker late last year, and it’s fair to say that J.J. Abrams and Lucasfilm’s curtain-closer drew the ire of ardent fans.
That’s not to say that Episode IX was unanimously criticized – far from it, in fact – but there are those who left theaters back in December feeling a little underwhelmed.
Because while The Rise of Skywalker delivered blockbuster action in spades, subplots involving Rey and Emperor Palpatine left viewers frustrated – confused, even – especially when paired with the story and overall direction of The Last Jedi. So where did things go wrong?
Well, according to Ahmed Best (Jar Jar Binks), Disney’s Sequel Trilogy overlooked the very thing that made the originals (and indeed the Prequels) so special: they were skewed towards the adults who grew up with Star Wars, rather than a younger audience.
It’s very much for the millennials and gen-Xers like myself…so kids are kind of left out of these, and the kids have to go to the animated series in order to get their dose of Star Wars, or they do like Phantom Menace. Phantom Menace is very much a kids movie. The new iterations of Star Wars are not really skewed towards kids, which is not something that George ever really wanted to do. George was always about the kids, and he used to say that if you get the kids, you have fans for the next 20 years; he was very much about kids. This idea that the movies are for adults is a very new thing, to be honest.
It’s a fair point, though Best was quick to dash any hopes of reprising his role as Jar Jar for the upcoming Obi-Wan TV series headed to Disney+, stating: “Jar Jar is something Lucasfilm is trying to move away from.”
The actor previously discussed the fallout from the Prequel Trilogy, when the hate and venom directed at Ahmed Best left him on the brink of suicide. And this despite Jar Jar Binks being one of the most cheerful and upbeat character in all of Star Wars. Toxic fandom is a real thing with potentially grave consequences, and that’s something that really ought to be on the masthead of every online forum across the four corners of the Internet.
Best is currently promoting the Disney+ game show, Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge, which is due to hit the streaming platform later this year.