“Yousa feeble skills show no match for theesa power of thisa Dark side-er.”

I promise you, that even though your brain is instantly screaming at the horror of hearing that line in earnest, it sounds totally amazing coming from the real Jar Jar Binks himself.

One of the more fun, but totally implausible, Star Wars theories is that apparent fool and bumbling idiot Jar Jar Binks was actually a secret Sith Lord working to destroy the Republic under the guise of a stupid voice and general ineptitude. (Who put the Senate up to voting Palpatine all those special powers, hmm?) While the theory is simply nothing more than a fun way to explain the seemingly inexplicable behavior of Jar Jar in the prequels, it turns out that idea had the potential to make the character not only a lot better, but totally and unexpectedly freaking awesome.

Ahmed Best, the actor responsible for creating Jar Jar entirely, from his voice to his mannerisms, alongside George Lucas, was asked what Jar Jar might have sounded like if he was really a follower of the Dark Side.

“Darth Jar Jar would probably have a different voice, wouldn’t he?” asked Best, “The whole Jar Jar voice would be the facade.” That led him to doing a voice that sounded a little like Batman crossed with Darth Vader, without any of Jar Jar’s signature “eesa” or “ousa” suffixes.

Am I crazy or was that a great Sith Lord voice? Imagine a scenario where the clumsy Gungun we all disliked so much in The Phantom Menace turned out to be working with Palpatine and revealed himself to be the galaxy’s greatest, evil conman in Revenge of the Sith? That would have changed perceptions of the prequels.

Best also offered his best idea of what Binks would have sounded like as Darth Jar Jar if he kept the same general voice, the one with all those “eesas” and “ousas.”

You know what? I kinda loved that voice too! Maybe even more than the first. It managed to sound like Jar Jar, but without the “fool” element that would have been used to hide his true identity. He just sounded like both Jar Jar Binks and a Sith Lord, one that came from a very different place than we’re used too.

This interview was a follow-up to the one Best did with Jamie Stangroom earlier this year, where Best talked about dealing with the fallout of the Jar Jar hatred that followed Episode I‘s release. In truth that interview was a somber reminder that even failed characters take a lot of love and work, but if nothing else both of these videos allow us to appreciate Best’s skills, independent of our opinion of the idiot Gungan..

Jar Jar will always be who he is in the prequels, but somewhere, in a galaxy far, far away, he really did turn out to be a Sith Lord, and it was awesome.

What do you think of these Darth Jar Jar voices? Which one did you like more? Weesa want to hear what yousa got to say in the comments below.

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Featured Image: murdockmotion/YouTube
Jar Jar Images: Lucasfilm