MovieChat Forums > Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) Discussion > Such a missed opportunity

Such a missed opportunity

posted 8 years ago by WallaceHasLanded
6 replies | jump to latest

Just rewatched this film and it was as disappointing as ever. Ive always been one to complain about how the Jar jar character ruins the film. Such an obvious play to appease the younger viewers and get cheap laughs from kids.

I never really had a solution outside of scraping the character until today.

This would have been such an amazing opportunity for the Han Solo character that the prequel trilogy so desperately needed. If Jar Jar had been a warrior who was excommunicated by the Gun-Guns, he could have been amazing! Make him the smart ass rough neck of the group. Would have been a fantastic compliment to the straight laced Jedi characters of Qui Gon and Obi Wan.

Could have actually been a character who developed throughout the entire trilogy as well, instead of being shelved from backlash as the Jar Jar character was.

Another change that could have helped would have keeping consistent chief villians. Darth Maul shouldn't have been killed in this film. He could have replaced the Count Dooku character in the future films and become something much improved.

[–] Final_Hitokiri 8 years ago

Lucas wanted a clown, he was insistent that kids would relate to Jar-Jar and he would be a huge hit. He also thought that since he was entirely animated (which was somewhat rare at the time) that adults would embrace him as well.

Lucas even thought that he could build a separate universe around Jar-Jar.

And he was so crushed when he was not embraced, that he purposely kept him in the following sequels just to satisfy his ego. (Notice how Jar-Jar's role gets smaller and smaller?)

[–] WallaceHasLanded 8 years ago

Jar Jar's role was more than reduced. He was almost completely purposely removed....and for damn good reason.

It just really bums me out. If that character was something else, it could have really delivered a satisfying anti-hero.

[–] death-lord 8 years ago

Darth jar jar is a compelling idea that Lucasfilm should consider the next time they introduce a alien character who seems friendly

[–] otter 8 years ago

I had a long argument with a co-worker last night (night shift 4:00 AM), and I argued that Darth Jar-Jar would never have worked.

Because Sith HAVE to be COOL!!! All Sith are cool, it's what makes them formidable and enjoyable as villain characters. Jar-Jar is an uncool dork from a species that is incapable of being cool, so even if he'd dropped the clownish mannerisms and revealed his evil self he'd still be annoying and contemptible. Lucas was right to drop the idea, and to give Jar-Jar his proper role as the fool who brought Palpatine to power. That worked.

“Seventy-seven courses and a regicide, never a wedding like it!

[–] death-lord 8 years ago

true...but the basic idea

"friendly alien is behind the heroes problems the whole time" would actually work considering that it would

make the character extremely intelligent and powerful to hide from jedi

give us a kind of traitors feeling everytime we meet him(TRAITOR!!!)

and maybe even admiration for his cunning(THIS DUDE FOOLED LUKE OR THE HEROES)

[–] otter 8 years ago

Hey, what if Maz Kanata turns out to be a sith, and the one who really called the First Order ships that attacked Rey, Han, and Finn!

That'd be a way to put your idea into practice, huh?

“Seventy-seven courses and a regicide, never a wedding like it!