Remember the Star Wars prequels’ Jar Jar Binks? Now imagine Jar Jar Binks, but in prosthetics, and with the voice of Michael Jackson.
Jar Jar Binks: everyone’s favorite gungan. The shining star of the generally fantastic, celebrated Star Wars prequels.
Er… or not.
Generally considered one of the worst characters in movie history, Jar Jar Binks was motion-captured and voiced by Ahmed Best, an actor who has since found success in the comedy industry.
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But what if George Lucas had gone a different route with Jar Jar, and cast someone more — much more — prominent?
Speaking to Vice about his career, Best revealed that the late Michael Jackson was interested in the role.
He found this out before Phantom Menace premiered, when Lucas took him and Natalie Portman to a Michael Jackson concert, and the legendary singer apparently already knew about Jar Jar.
“George introduced me as ‘Jar Jar’ and I was like, ‘That’s kind of weird.’ Michael was like, ‘Oh. OK.’,” Best recalls. “After Michael had driven off, we all go back up to a big afterparty. I’m having a drink with George and I said, ‘Why did you introduce me as Jar Jar?’ He said, ‘Well, Michael wanted to do the part but he wanted to do it in prosthetics and makeup like ‘Thriller’.’ George wanted to do it in CGI.”
Related: Will J.J. Abrams kill off Jar Jar Binks in Star Wars: The Force Awakens?
Best speculates that Lucas didn’t want Michael Jackson in the role because the singer would have been, “bigger than the movie.”
Now, while the idea of Michael Jackson in a Star Wars film might seem a little ridiculous, it’s hard to imagine that the character of Jar Jar Binks could have been more of a disaster than it already was.
The fact that he wanted to do makeup and prosthetics might actually have endeared Jar Jar more to Star Wars fans, who took issue with the prequels’ heavy use of CGI to create the alien characters.
Related: Star Wars: The Force Awakens debuts new featurette showing off practical effects, new characters
For this year’s The Force Awakens, director J.J. Abrams has consciously chosen to employ practical effects whenever possible, to better capture the spirit of the original trilogy.
Could you imagine Michael Jackson as a “Thriller”-style Jar Jar Binks? Would it actually have made Star Wars: Episode I more enjoyable? Or would we have been left wishing they’d cast a less high-profile star in the role?
‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ opens December 18, 2015
Watch the amazing trailer for the movie below: