Alright, when I first heard the Darth Jar Jar theory I was a bit skeptical however, after seeing the evidence I became convinced. My personal theory is that Darth Jar Jar was Lucas' original idea, but that he had abandoned by Revenge of the Sith at the latest dueto the backlash against Jar Jar (I also unfortunately don't think there are any plans to make Darth Jar Jar cannon , I feel like Jar Jar being comic relief has been ingrained in fans' minds after all these years for that to happen). But, let's say hypothieticallly George Lucas decided to stick with the idea of Jar Jar as the secret main villain, how would have episodes 2 and 3 played out? Here are my main questions and beliefs .

Jar Jar's role: There is some debate about whether Jar Jar and Palpatine were co-conspirators or one worked with the other. My thoughts are this: since Jar Jar is supposed to be a counter to Yoda who is basically the head Jedi, it only makes sense for Jar Jar to be the Sith master and Palpatine his apprentice. The problem is , and this has used as the main evidence against the Darth Jar Jar theory is the Rule of Two, the idea that there can only be two Sith master and apprentice, which we see throughout the prequel and original trilogy. So then , how do we get around that? My thoughts are this, either Maul was tricked into beleiving he was a Sith apprentice or more likely, Jar Jar went against this rule, having two apprentices (one senior to the other)which would be a greater shock to the Jedi and the audience. I assume that Jar Jar, like in Phantom Menace would use his friendship with Anakin and Padme to manipulate their decisions.

When would the reveal occur?: Since the theory postulates that the Darth Jar Jar reveal would mirror the 'I am your father' moment, which occurred in the second installment of the original trilogy I believe it would occur during Attack of the Clones (since that is the second installment of the prequel trilogy). Also Lucas would need to give fans an explanation as to why he kept giving Jar Jar the spotlight after the backlash against him. But more importantly, how would the reveal happen? Would it be revealed just to the audience? Would someone get suspicious of Jar Jar, and then Jar Jar kill them, keeping his facade to the other characters? Or would he outright reveal himself as a Sith Lord ? I feel like it would be one of the first two, I believe Lucas would want to portray Jar Jar as a secret manipulator (also keeping the scene as Jar Jar swaying the Senate to give Palpatine emergency powers) like Palpatine but more obscure. Jar Jar would reveal himself as a Sith to the Jedi in episode 3 during Order 66 (probably sooner to Anakin).

How would the Clone Wars play out?: I assume they would still occur but most likely the Separatist leaders would be different. The Darth Jar Jar theory postulates that Dooku was created as Jar Jar's stand-in. However, if Dooku was never created who leads the Separatists? Perhaps Jar Jar will take on a new junior apprentice that would take the place of Dooku. Or maybe Dooku would just be a regular politician and not a former Jedi, however, it would make more sense if the Serperatists had some force-sensitive people like Ventress (who would need a master) to rival the Jedi.

Jar Jar's fate?: My main theory after Jar Jar reveals himself to the Jedi during Order 66, he duels his counterpart Yoda, then Palpatine ends Anakin/Vader to kill him in order in order to become the Sith master and secure power as Emperor (maybe Jar Jar foresaw that Palpatine was going to betray him, and was going to use Anakin against him, but Palpatine somehow beat him too it). Vader would seemingly kill Jar Jar, explaining why he didn't appear in the original trilogy. However, Jar Jar would then be revealed at having survived. Midqueal series would show him manipulating events behind the scenes during the time of the Empire, and th sequel trilogy would have him as the main villain (perhaps canonizing the Jar Jar is Snoke theory)

Let me know what you think about my questions, postulations, and own personal theories. I might write a episode 2 and 3 rewrite fan fiction featuring Darth Jar Jar!

https://preview.redd.it/z7d9d88r0cpd1.png?width=862&format=png&auto=webp&s=1fe5681a75faed2e999482c00723e63e8abfb1ae

https://preview.redd.it/of2a5v9tygmd1.jpg?width=1094&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b821ebc2ae61d2e9d9014dad7c05c3e4a1704a53

https://preview.redd.it/kthrp729ygmd1.png?width=728&format=png&auto=webp&s=3c56c85673b8b1d8e7a1e1a9a0c972b177efb068

https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/star-wars-ahmed-best-jar-jar-binks-interview

Imo, this pretty much solidifies his character's involvement as a sith reveal even after DJJ had to take a back seat in episode 2 in being replaced by dooku.

The Dark Falcon - 75389

Edit 7/23/24: I don't know if anyone's specifically addressed this before so I'm gonna go ahead and label it with the echo chamber tagline. I recently watched all three prequels back to back in one night on a big projector screen with friends at their home theater.

Let me begin first by saying how incredible it was to see it on the big screen again for the first time in almost 20 years--really brought me back to when I was a kid going to the theater to see the prequels for the first time. I don't mind the small screen presentation I think it holds up well but something about singing on a big projector screen and among friends was truly a once in a lifetime opportunity (or rather twice in a lifetime in this case).

That said: After some considerations I started to notice conflicting patterns in quality: the first obviously being jar jar's appearance in each film and the second being the CGI/special effects and overall tone.

1. does anybody else find it weird in retrospect how jar jar is one of the main characters of The phantom menace but then in attack of the clones his role is reduced to basically a glorified cameo, And then in revenge of the sith he makes a very brief appearance barely even speaking a word?

I know it's largely due to the fact that Lucas was doing damage control with fan backlash at the time but tonally it doesn't make sense-- from a story telling point of view it creates an uneven narrative.

2. George Lucas made it a point to wait 16 years for the technology at ILM to catch up so that he could tell more of the story that he wanted to tell.

In Phantom menace there's still a lot of practical effects and the CGI that for the most part looks more polished and holds up to this day in my humble opinion. Granted some of this could be because Lucas had more years to prep for TPM but then we get to attack the clones and most of the effects still look polished enough although there will be an occasional CGI moment that seems a bit less convincing. Lastly we have revenge of the sith which in my opinion has the least convincing and overuse of CGI effects (something I started to notice since my first viewing in the theater back in the day). You can see it the most with the battle over coruscant/Droid scenes in the opening and the lightsaber blades themselves-- as spectacular as they are, to me it's easier to tell that it's not as real compared to the last couple entries.

As a side note revenge of the sith feels like it almost can't decide how much it's for kids versus adults when it comes to trying to balance out the humor and the darker elements. Some could argue that phantom menace in particular had this issue with too much humor from jar jar but in this one the battle droids seem a lot more comical compared to the last two prequel movies and the two tones feel a little choppy in parts.

I remember seeing phantom menace and being completely wowed by it's effects and by the time I saw attack of the clones I will admit still being wowed although upon first viewing I was a little disappointed because jar jar wasn't featured in it as much (ironic looking back), but really enjoyed the political intrigue and the whole subplot with the clones/Jango and boba Fett was and still is the biggest selling point for me to keep rewatching it; Also loved the Jedi vs separatist droids geonosis battle sequence-- and of course who didn't love the Yoda vs dooku lightsaber battle that made the whole crowd cheer?

But those two films felt like they had enough twists and turns to keep you guessing whereas with revenge of the sith the whole plot was basically given away in the trailers.

All this to say could this be further evidence that George Lucas had to rush things with each progressing film because he had to make drastic changes behind the scenes/tell an altered version of what he actually wanted to tell?

Bottom line is I personally feel like with revenge of the sith there is a steep decline in quality even though it's not horrible; something about the tone and presentation just feels off when you watch all three in a row back to back. Almost as if Lucas was burned out by the third one in particular and was ready to be done with the franchise especially since he couldn't tell the story that he really wanted to.

I remember walking out the theater at the time and hearing my dad say something to the same effect. During the same experience I also recall when the curtains parted from in front of the screen (back when that used to be a thing/when digital theaters were still up and coming) and the previews ended everyone in the audience started clapping in unison when the 20th century fox and Lucas film logos appeared. But as soon as the film ended everyone got up without any cheering or clapping and just left the theater... it was almost like we were leaving a funeral oddly enough. I can't tell if people weren't pleased with the film or if they were busy thinking "well that was fun. great, now what?"

Did anybody ever get that impression both at the time or in recent viewings as well?