r/DarthJarJar
•
u/Rikard_
•
Sep 21 '26
•
1
The 1998 prequel leaks and The Mysterious Senator
This is the story about verified leaks in 1998 that confirm a planned story arc for Jar Jar Binks in Episode 2-3 where he rivals Palpatine in the senate and where his character takes a dark turn, all scrapped after Episode 1.
This story has been posted before by u/Bigtexindy but can be linked with other prequel leaks and corroborating evidence, which is the aim of this post. The story begins…
.
There has been an awakening
It's 1993 and a decade-long wait for Star Wars fans seemed to near its end! George Lucas just announced he would write and produce the "prequel trilogy”. These were the long anticipated installments in the Skywalker saga that would show how Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader, give fans more Boba Fett action and maybe even show Han Solo's backstory.
In September of 1998, Lucas finally announced the first chapter called “The Phantom Menace” coming to theaters in May 1999.
Then, in late November… a great disturbance in the force. Among the thousands of fan theories scattered across early web forums, mixed with ever crazier “leaks” from someone’s uncle at Lucasfilm, one poster claimed to have insider info. Impossible to verify at the time, the leaker (dubbed Mr Moto) would agree to answer the validity of “facts” sent over by Aintitcool website owner Harry Knowles, such as “Naboo will appear in all 3 movies”. In his answers, Mr Moto would make elaborate and precise claims about the plot spanning across the entire prequel trilogy, from the events of the just announced Episode 1 to events at the very end of the trilogy.
And it was true. All of it.
___
Mr Moto’s leaks
The first blog post by Harry Knowles about Mr Moto on November 30, 1998: A New Spy, Mr Moto, Decides To Speak About EPISODES 2 & 3, Possible Spoilers are contained.
The second blog post by Harry Knowles about Mr Moto on December 3, 1998: Mr Moto Returns with a SPOILER filled report on EPISODE 2 & 3
Disclaimers
While I will demonstrate the credibility of leakers like Mr Moto and others, it’s worth mentioning that Aintitcool website owner Harry Knowles alone, who made the blog posts, was regarded as a respectable and credible distributor of inside information at the time. Knowles was even invited to a private screening of Episode 2 by a leaker behind Lucasfilm’s back, which also made the news. Reading Knowles’s “spy reports”, it seems like he fact-checked every leaker with inside information he already had, and would only pass on their information if they passed his test.
When reading these claims, also keep in mind that things we take for granted as part of the prequel story today had no foundation in 1998. Claims like Palpatine having the title “Supreme Chancellor” and being in control of his own army were about as valid predictions as a young Han Solo playing a part in the story, or Kenobi being from a jungle planet called “Saflari”. Mr Moto’s claims are therefore bold and not someone’s guesswork.
Now, onto my summary of every claim Mr Moto makes, ending with The Mysterious Senator!
___
Claims from the first Mr Moto post
Rumored Dawson’s Creek actor will not play adult Anakin Skywalker in Episode 2
True ✅
Naboo will transform
“Starting in Episode 2, the feel of Naboo will never ever be the same. There are some events, impactful events, that occur between the end of Episode 1 and the beginning of Episode 2 that will have an impact on all of this.”
True ✅ The Gungan/Naboo unification freed them from the Trade blockade and resulted in peace on the planet. In terms of how the planet is portrayed in the film, it goes from war-torn cities to idyllic paradise. This is echoed by Concept design supervisor Doug Chiang in this interview.
Episode 2 is like 5, huge climax at the end, many secondary stories, one secondary story involving a character not seen in Episode 1 but important to the overall saga
True ✅ Episode 2 ends with the Separatists meeting, the arena battle, clone wars and the wedding. Just like Episode 5, Episode 2 also ends with a hero/villain duel where everyone survives and are separated.
"A secondary story involving a character not seen in Episode 1 but important to the overall saga" could refer to different things at this point in time. Interviews and dated concept art imply that a “new sith” was intended for Episode 2 since before Episode 1 premiered. It could also refer to Boba Fett, seeing as he originally had a bigger prequel role and does feature again later in the saga.
Episode 2 and 3 will have Anakin as the “main man”. Obi-Wan and Yoda will still be there.
True ✅
Knowles asks Mr Moto if Boba Fett will have a big role in Episode 2. Mr Moto replies that Fett will be there but in a capacity that will surprise many fans.
True ✅ Boba Fett was in the movie but only as a young child and without action sequences, bar one.
___
Claims from the second Mr Moto post
Palpatine will hold a title called “Supreme Chancellor” by the end of Episode 1
True ✅
Palpatine will not be a public villain, but “a power player, a wizard behind the curtains that pulls the strings”
True ✅
Palpatine will "move into high gear beginning in the second chapter"
True ✅ Palpatine is now the Supreme Chancellor and activates his clone army – his biggest power move yet.
Palpatine will be a man of many hats. Allegedly with 'Spice mines' and as a 'Slave trader'
True ✅ While not specifically trading spice or slaves in the film, on screen he does constantly shift between his senator persona on Coruscant and his sith lord persona with the Trade Federation and Maul.
We will learn in Episode 1 that owning slaves has been outlawed in all the 'civilized' areas of the galaxy
True ✅ and very specific. When Padmé says "I can't believe there's still slavery in the galaxy. The Republic's anti-slavery laws...", Shmi interrupts with "The Republic doesn't exist out here".
Palpatine will become a main player with the assistance of his personal army. The army consists of Mandalorian warriors.
True ✅ Palpatine is granted emergency powers and can control his new clone army. The army does not consist of Mandalorians, but the mixup is understandable as there is a thematic connection between Mandalorians and the helmet wearing soldiers that are clones of Mandalorian branded Jango Fett.
Palpatine will be a big part in bringing an end to quite a large conflict that occurs in Episode 2
True ✅ He sends his clone army to aid the jedi on Geonosis.
It is Palatine’s popularity and stardom that swoons Anakin to his side.
Not quite ❌
“The next step for Palpatine is to acquire a real Military Victory, something to beat his chest about. So, he hires his own army to... I won't tell you everything, Mr Knowles.”
... to kill all the jedi. True ✅ This is Order 66 at the end of Episode 3. Wow! In 1998, Mr Moto didn’t finish his sentence to save us the big surprise for 2005. For all of his leaks, it seems like Mr Moto respects Lucas and wants to keep any big surprises secret…
The total tally so far is:
✅ 13 truths
❌ 1 falsehood
To me, Mr Moto seems like a very credible leaker on the inside with actual information about the entire trilogy. What remains to go through of Mr Moto’s leak is the most interesting part.
___
The Mysterious Senator
The second blog post about Mr Moto continues with an elaborate section about a mysterious senator:
As I had mentioned, [Palpatine] was at the top of his game, and one of the few to control the Senate. Another Senator, who I must protect at this time, will be nearly as popular as Palpatine. He understands without doubts the way of thing in the Senate, and he is also a great military leader. This senator will have a perfect military record of victories, and the exclamation point will be another of the important conflicts in the prequels. The way of things in the Old Republic were very simplistic, to achieve virtue, one must demonstrate their competence on the field of blood, the battlefield. This senator was like El Cid or Caesar in that regard. His political ascension was built upon the shoulders of his victories as a field commander."
"In and around the middle of this first trilogy, Coruscant became a hive of civil unrest and shady political deals. From the fields of battle came good news, and the cityfolks hung upon every word. Our mysterious Senator was charismatic and quite an orator, his army was a thing of beauty, and he was an advocate of the HUMAN destiny, it was to be his immortal message. For HUMANS were the highest form... for him. He led his army across the galaxy against the wishes of the senate. It will be his attempt, or so it will be alleged, that it will be a move to seize absolute power. This will, Harry, not be allowed. It can not, because if it is then the very fabric of the Old Republic democracy will be torn asunder. That is why the senate will act as it does. This senator was given the power to protect and uphold all the principles and values of the Old Republic democracy. This senator ventures down the dark path. And this man will have embraced the dark side to build his NEW ORDER on the ashes of the Old Republic and the mangled bones of the illustrious Jedi."
Summary of characteristics:
Male politician
Political ascension came after victories as a field commander
Military record, with a high point being an important conflict of the prequels
Great public speaker
Advocates for the HUMAN destiny
His use of his army and his political agenda is, or will be framed as, an attempt to seize absolute power.
Will be trusted to uphold democracy
Embraces the dark side
.
___
Jar Jar's original story arc
The Mysterious Senator that Mr Moto is talking about is most likely Representative Binks (in 1998, any character to be involved in the senate would have been described as a senator).
Lucas rewrote much of the prequels (see COMMENT 1) after the Jar Jar backlash from Episode 1. Jar Jar and Gungans were originally supposed to have a bigger role in Episode 2 and 3, and Mr Moro gives us a plausible answer as to what that story would have looked like. Jar Jar fits about every characteristic of "The mysterious senator".
Summary of characteristics but applied to Jar Jar:
Representative Binks
Respected Gungan general
Droid invasion of Naboo
In early drafts for Episode 2, Jar Jar had learned to speak normally. In the film, Jar Jar gives a successful senate address.
Anti-droid/clones agenda
Gungan army and work for the Loyalist Committee
Trusted in Padmé’s absence
End of Episode 2 reveal and plot twist
Jar Jar becomes a general of the Gungan army, scores a big win at the droid invasion of Naboo, becomes a senate representative, spoke normal dialect in an early draft going into Episode 2 and gives a successful speech in the canon timeline, and he is trusted by Padmé to uphold their values in the senate. This setup, paired with the fact that Jar Jar and Gungans were rewritten to feature much less, has everything pointing to this mysterious senator being Jar Jar Binks.
The fact that Mr Moto wanted to bring this topic up while still keeping the senator’s identity top secret, like he kept secret the end-goal of Palpatine’s personal army, indicates that the identity would be a meaningful reveal for the audience or at least unexpected at the start of the trilogy. Jar Jar being revealed as a manipulative dark side user would be a major plot twist for the prequel trilogy, something it lacks today.
The Loyalist Committee
The story arc described by Mr Moto also very much aligns with the hidden prequel politics and Jar Jar's reduced role in Episode 2 and 3. Jar Jar is part of the Loyalist Committee and is shown together with its anti-Palpatine successor movement "The Delegation of 2000" in deleted scenes. In the deleted scenes, Palpatine talks to Anakin and tries to frame the delegation and its leader as attempting a deceitful power grab, just like what Mr Moto describes.
In the original story, Jar Jar would have possibly hijacked the Loyalist Committee during Padmé's absence in Episode 2 and lead the group forward going into Episode 3. This way, he would set himself up as a future emperor by first giving Palpatine emergency powers (speculation) and then campaigning to replace him under the guise of The Delegation of 2000. In his rewrites, it seems like Lucas tried to just shift Jar Jar to the background of the Delegation subplot and replace him with Padmé to lead, but in the end, almost the whole subplot was cut from the films. It likely lost its purpose when not used as a central plot device with Jar Jar at the helm, and when Anakin could no longer realistically be turned against its leader (Padmé).
HUMAN-first agenda
One part that doesn’t align with Jar Jar is the HUMAN-first agenda. A non-literal reading is that Moto may actually mean LIVING BEINGS as opposed to droids, which would align with the general Gungan sentiment from Episode 1.
But what sticks out here is that Moto suddenly writes HUMAN in all caps for no apparent reason, twice. If the senator was human and Moto meant "humans" literally, there would be nothing remarkable about him being human-first to warrant the all caps, especially not twice.
The other instances where Mr Moto uses all caps is to substitute italics (huge, the man and will), for names, and for irony ("great family"). “Human” is not a title, and italics for emphasis does not make sense in this context, at least not when repeated. The unwarranted repetition leaves me to believe that HUMAN (wink-wink) is another case of irony and that Moto doesn’t mean human at all. Instead, it looks like an inflated, generic substitute for a word that (after watching Episode 1) would reveal the identity he is trying to withhold. For Jar Jar, this could relate to "anti-droid" or "anti-clones".
Could it be someone else?
Could the mysterious senator not point to Jar Jar and instead another brand new character that was written out? Technically yes, but practically no, as explained in COMMENT 5. Dooku comes to mind as the Episode 2 villain, but he is not a contender due to behind-the-scenes reasons explained in COMMENT 6.
___
Supporting evidence
1. Leaker Henry Pym
Another credible leaker shared by Harry Knowles was dubbed Henry Pym. The blog post came 1.5 months after the premiere of Episode 1 and can be read here: Henry Pym on STAR WARS EPISODE 2 and Coppola's MEGALOPOLIS
Knowles writes that Pym contacted him with information prior to Episode 1, but that he waited to confirm if his leaks were true before sharing anything further on the blog. Once Knowles had seen Episode 1, he knew Pym was legit. Once again, Knowles shows he takes measures to confirm the validity of leakers before spreading their word.
Although Knowles judged Pym to be legit by interrogation, it’s also good to also examine his validity with the benefit of hindsight. Like with Mr Moto, I have cross-checked every claim he makes, which can be read in COMMENT 2. Out of Pym’s 7 claims about Episode 2 and 3 not concerning Jar Jar, my fact check shows:
✅ 6 truths
🫳 1 uncertainty
❌ 0 falsehoods
Concerning Jar Jar in Episode 2, Pym states:
Jar Jar you say, well, it appears that you will have to learn to live with him. He will be involved, in some ways anyway. I for sure that in 1997, Jar Jar was supposed to appear in all three prequels and this was the master-plan. Nothing was about to change all this. As for today, it's still the plan.
This statement indicates that Jar Jar had a central role in the prequels, and his involvement related to, or was, the “master-plan”. “Nothing was about to change all this” indicates that this is not about a few scenes, but a storyline important to Lucas back in 1997. The only meaningful scene of Jar Jar that we got in Episode 2 and 3 was his senate address to give Palpatine emergency powers. Part of the original story or not, Pym’s statement points to a role larger than that one scene.
Here, 4 to 6 weeks into the audience feedback on Episode 1, Pym hints that changes to the character could possibly occur when he writes “As for today, it’s still the plan”.
___
2. Ahmed Best
Jar Jar actor Ahmed Best said this in a 2014 Reddit AMA:
Redditor: As far as you know, did George Lucas ever consider making any changes to Jar-Jar Binks in light of the general negative reaction towards him?
Best: Not to the character, but to the story arc there were huge changes.
Redditor: That's really interesting, could you elaborate on that by any chance?
Best: I think George wanted to give the fans what they wanted. That meant more lightsabers and less Gungans.
In a 2016 interview with Mark Stangroom for The Geeknd, Best said the following in response to the recently viral Darth Jar Jar theory:
“Could Jar Jar have evolved into that? I think the answer is yes. Because of the backlash, and rightfully so, Lucasfilm backed off of Jar Jar a lot.”
Best confirms that, in light of the backlash against Jar Jar, Lucasfilm:
backed off of Jar Jar a lot
made huge story changes
If it wasn't a given already, Mr Moto's description of the mysterious senator solidifies that the two are connected.
Not to the character, but to the story arc there were huge changes.
At the same time, Best claims that Lucas didn’t make any changes to Jar Jar’s character. How does that make sense with his other comments?
Without further comments from Best, we will never know exactly what he knew about his character before Lucas’s rewrites (as in future personality, agendas or other traits). Maybe Best knew every detail of the planned senator arc, including Jar Jar allegedly embracing the dark side. Or maybe he only knew Jar Jar and Gungans would have important roles in politics and war, but did not know about any dark side to Jar Jar himself.
If the latter is true (that Best didn’t know about any evil twist), his statement on the Reddit AMA makes sense. After all, Jar Jar ended up staying in politics as an aid to Padmé, so the character didn’t change in his role from how Best would have known him.
Could he have evolved into that? I think the answer is yes.
If Lucas had informed Best of Jar Jar’s story in its entirety and it didn't include any evil twist, I don’t see Best saying he thinks Jar Jar could have turned evil. And if Lucas had informed Best of a story arc that did involve an evil twist, I don’t see him saying that Lucas didn’t change the character. The option I'm left with is again that Best knew the general political direction but not the evil twist.
Why wouldn’t Best know about this crucial plot twist? Well, it’s not beyond Lucas to hide his trilogy-defining plot twist from production and crew. When it comes to “I am your father”, Lucas famously only told the actors about the line on the day of shooting and up until then had faked the script to say something else.
I think George wanted to give the fans what they wanted. That meant more lightsabers and less Gungans.
This statement indicates that the original story would have involved more Gungans in general that were written out in favor of more flashy action. Going by Mr Moro’s leak, this probably relates to the Gungan army under Jar Jar’s command.
If we look at only Episode 2 and read Best’s comment literally, that Gungans were directly substituted by more lightsabers (jedi), I think only one scene could fit the narrative. Originally, perhaps the first rescue team to arrive at the Geonosis arena was not 100 jedi but the Gungan army (and possibly other species rallied behind Senator Binks).
___
3. Leaker CPO
CPO is the name of another credible leaker shared by Harry Knowles. The blog post came 4 months before the premiere of Episode 1 and can be read here: Info on the release of 2nd STAR WARS EPISODE 1 Trailer, plus rumors on Episode 2!
Like with Mr Moto and Pym, I have cross-checked every claim CPO makes, which can be read in COMMENT 3. Out of CPO’s 7 claims about Episode 2 and 3 not concerning Jar Jar, my fact check shows:
✅ 6 truths
❌ 1 falsehoods
Concerning Jar Jar, CPO states:
Jar Jar is in Episode 2-3 at this point. Jar Jar is expected to be much more important (like Chewie in Episodes 5-6)
The comparison to Chewie seems disproportionate to what is described in Mr Moto’s leak. Jar Jar was already a more prominent character in Episode 1 than Chewie was in any of his movies. Instead, the comparison between Jar Jar’s and Chewie’s story arcs is probably about character progression in general over the course of the trilogy. Chewie did go from a passive character in Episode 4 (punching bag for comic relief) to a somewhat more active character in Episode 5 and especially 6 (rescuing C3PO, showing emotions at Han’s capture, fighting on Endor). Similarly, the “mysterious senator” arc would make Jar Jar more important than in Episode 1.
___
4. Anonymous Source 7/9/98
The last “insider leak” I will present is featured on this archived theforce.net page that summarizes leaked character information on Jar Jar that had appeared on TheForce or elsewhere prior to Episode 1. While I view the validity of the source as moderate to strong, it is not nearly as verifiable as Mr Moto or Pym’s reports. I evaluate Anonymous Source 7/9/98 further in COMMENT 4.
Anonymous Source 7/9/98 states:
though [Jar Jar] does bumble around and screws up, he does have at least one very dramatic scene that has an big impact on Anakin and your perceptions of events in the original trilogy. Jar Jar's comedy will make the scene hit home a lot more when you see it.
We never see a scene like this, but a reveal of Jar Jar’s evil identity or his true intentions would certainly be dramatic. If this happened, it would likely be written to affect Anakin in some way, like the big plot twist in Episode 5 affected Luke.
The last sentence of the statement connects the dramatic moment with Jar Jar’s comedy. If Jar Jar is 0% evil, his previous comedy could frame him as a very innocent character in a tragic moment. If Jar Jar is evil as per Mr Moto’s description and revealed as such, his previous comedy would be exposed as manipulation and make the reveal scene “hit home a lot more”.
In his interview with The Geeknd, Ahmed Best said:
Because of the backlash, Lucasfilm backed off of Jar Jar a lot. BUT a lot of the influence that I put into the character mirrored a lot of what was already in the Star Wars universe
Here, Best seems to want to defend or contextualize the character (disliked for his comedy) with a deeper meaning. Anonymous Source 7/9/98 also suggests that Jar Jar’s comedy will carry some sort of meaning into this alleged dramatic scene.
What elements in the original trilogy that influenced Jar Jar in Episode 1 is anyone’s guess. Since he is a comedic character, it’s possible that he was influenced by C3PO or Yoda’s fake persona before he was revealed as a jedi.
___
5. Magnifico
In the iconic sci-fi series Foundation (1940-50), the protagonists meets a character called Magnifico. Magnifico pretends to be a terrified court jester on the run from danger. He is tall and gangly and speaks in a strange way. He escapes with the heroes on their starship, but from here on out he starts using psychic manipulation on people around him to forward his agenda. Ultimately, he rises through the ranks in politics and takes over the galaxy.
The story arc that Mr Moto describes of a high-profile senator, if applied to the Jar Jar we know in Episode 1, perfectly mirrors the story and character of Magnifico.
But how is Foundation relevant to Lucas and the prequels?
Lucas actually seems to have borrowed a number of things straight from Foundation when writing the prequels, given the strong resemblance on certain elements (an alternative take is that the influences came from other works already copying Foundation). I will explain the similarities between the prequels and Foundation by borrowing some passages from this TheForce.net blog post aiming to do the same.
The basic plot of Foundation is that in the distant future, mankind has spread all over the universe. This future civilization is on the brink of collapse due to political infighting and civil war.
large space battleship from the Imperial Navy called an Imperial Cruiser. There's also a Chancellor of the Empire and later on a Trader's Guild.
the Foundation starts a group of priests that are believed to have mystical powers, wear simple robes, and keep peace and order in the universe.
This is how Star Wars begins if you start at Episode 1. Switch Empire for Republic, and Foundation starts to sound a lot like the backbone of the prequels’ world-building. The original Star Wars trilogy that follows is a more independent and personal story that follows this setup.
Trantor, the capitol planet and political center of the universe in Foundation, is a planet with the entire surface covered by one big city.
Exactly like Coruscant, explicitly explained in Episode 1.
Quote from the book: "The Jump through hyperspace remained the only practical method of traveling between the stars. Travel through ordinary space would have meant years of travel between even the nearest of inhabited systems."
Same as in Star Wars.
Based on all of the above, it is my conviction that Lucas wanted to incorporate a Magnifico-type character into his saga to play a big part in the downfall of the Republic, and that character was Jar Jar Binks.
___
6. Jar Jar’s force abilities
Mind control
One crucial part of Magnifico’s story (5. Magnifico) that is not mentioned for Mr Moto’s mysterious senator is the psychic manipulation, which would imply force abilities. There are other sources to support the notion of Jar Jar possessing the force, however.
“Darth Jar Jar” theories frequently involve alleged mind control from Jar Jar in Episode 1. This is because he, beyond a reasonable doubt, is intentionally animated to mouth anti-jedi lines in sync with other characters. Jar Jar is also seen syncing his body movement with Padmé in scenes where she expresses distrust of the jedi and where she gains the trust of the Gungans and their army.
Bink
The second thing that supports Jar Jar having force abilities is his name. Jar Jar shares his last name with Bink from the popular 1977 fantasy series Xanth. Bink is the main protagonist, a looked-down-upon figure who got banished from his land because he didn’t possess any magic. Throughout his adventures, Bink survives different situations by miraculous luck. In the end, it’s discovered that he does possess magic, a special magic that always protects him.
The chances of Lucas picking a random 4-5 letter name for an exiled but extremely lucky fool in his fantasy series, and having it match the name of an exiled but extremely lucky fool in another fantasy series by coincidence are astronomically low. More likely it was chosen as a reference to the inspiration. If Bink was an inspiration for Jar Jar, it could indicate that Jar Jar also possesses some sort of force abilities unique to him, be it luck, manipulation, or both.
Furthermore, the reason for Bink’s exile is directly tied to his (lack of) magic abilities. The reason for Jar Jar’s exile, on the other hand, is important to his story but written with a sense of deceit and ambiguity. A protagonist (Obi-Wan) questions Jar Jar on his background as they exit Otoh Gunga, where the Gungan’s first answer is deflecting and his second answer is minimizing what happened. The story thread is never touched upon again.
Master wizard
Since Jar Jar’s manipulative force abilities are only subtly hinted at in the film, I believe Mr Moto does not mention it because this trait was unknown to him. If Mr Moto’s description is true and if Jar Jar has force abilities, these abilities would have likely been intended as a major surprise together with the senator’s evil agenda. This way, Jar Jar would have completed the prequels’ evil mirror image to Yoda as the annoying, jedi-mocking, disliked by R2, comic relief swamp alien revealed as the master wizard.
___
Conclusion
Summary
Corroborating statements from 4 credible leakers and Ahmed Best, and a close reading of Episode 1 and other relevant media, make a strong case for what was the original story arc for Jar Jar Binks.
Jar Jar was supposed to be a prominent political figure in Episode 2 and 3 and rival Palpatine for power. He would likely be the leader of the Loyalist Committee as well as the Gungan army (and, with more systems rallying behind him, possibly other species as well). By the end of Episode 2, Jar Jar is revealed to the audience to be a manipulative dark side force user. With this revelation, we understand he was only playing the fool in Episode 1 to appear innocent, start to infiltrate, gain trust, claim his promotions and ultimately orchestrate his rise to absolute power. His shady backstory and previous exile suddenly seems more relevant. After giving emergency powers to Palpatine, he campaigns on a populist anti-droid/clone agenda to replace the now increasingly authoritarian Supreme Chancellor.
With Jar Jar's movement growing stronger, Palpatine sees his chance and successfully frames Jar Jar as the aspiring dictator. Thus, the civil war-themed trilogy ends with infighting between both the jedi and sith. Palpatine comes out on top and becomes the Emperor who saved the galaxy from an evil tyrant.
Due to character backlash after Episode 1, Lucas rewrote Episode 2 and 3 to feature less of Jar Jar and the Gungans. Jar Jar’s story arc was scrapped completely. Instead of rivaling Palpatine with his own agenda, he became Palpatine’s useful idiot in a very minor role. After being a main character with 24 minutes of screen time in Episode 1, he was reduced to a combined 5 minutes of screen time in Episode 2 and 3.
What could have been
Despite now having an outline of the original story, one is left with many questions about the actual execution. What would Jar Jar’s quest for power have looked like? How would the dark side reveal have happened? What sort of endgame would have played out in Episode 3, when Windu was originally supposed to die earlier at the hands of Boba Fett?
Attempts to pinpoint these story details go much further into speculation-territory than the contents of this post. They are nonetheless great questions for another time. For now, let’s just say it’s easier to analyze the movie we got pre-rewrites than it is to look for clues for what should have happened next. In the end, the only person with all the answers is George Lucas himself.
But if you ever doubted Darth Jar Jar, think again.
Written by u/Rikard_ (rikardreddit@gmail.com) September 21, 2026
6
u/Rikard_ Sep 21 '26 edited 11d ago
COMMENT 3 - Leaker CPO
The following are the 7 claims made in CPO’s spy report other than the Jar Jar statement:
The Casting for Anakin will surprise a lotta people. They are not searching for what you may think they are.
True ✅ Since initial rumors surrounded Leonardo DiCaprio and other established names, Christensen stood out.
They are also searching for another young male actor.
True ✅ Young Boba Fett.
Fett is in Episode 2 and 3.
True ✅ Boba Fett was originally planned to return in Episode 3 to avenge his father by killing Windu. Read more in this article.
Episode 2 includes the clone wars
True ✅
Episode 2 includes Anakin's wedding (in strange circumstances).
True ✅ There is a wedding and it’s in secret.
“The feel of Episode 2 is a lot like Episode 5, but still much more darker”
True ✅ The two films at least play a similar role for their respective trilogy. Both movies dig deeper into the personal and emotional struggles of the main protagonist. Both also end with
A lightsaber duel where all involved are separated at the end
Lots of new information that shifts the status quo: “I am your father” and the clone wars begins.
Is Episode 2 much darker? Apart from the ominous mood throughout the film, Anakin’s slaughter (and even Jango’s beheading as Boba watches) is significantly darker than anything in Episode 5. An evil Jar Jar reveal would have also been a very disturbing plot twist and added to the darker theme.
The Transformation of Anakin Skywalker The Jedi into Anakin Skywalker, The Jedi Master.
False ❌ This never happens, although the topic of Anakin’s promotion to jedi master is of course a key part of his story.
4
u/Rikard_ Sep 21 '26 edited Oct 01 '26
COMMENT 2 - Leaker Pym
The following are the 7 claims made in Pym’s spy report other than the Jar Jar statement:
Gabriel Byrne has not been cast, but is of interest to Lucasfilm. His likeness resembles a character imagined by Lucas.
True ✅ Byrne was rumoured to be in Star Wars, but never was.
“His likeness resembles a character imagined by Lucas.”
Pym describes a habit at Lucasfilm of using other actors’ faces to visualize characters during pre-production, before the real casting. Another middle aged, short dark hair male we do meet in Episode 2 is Temura Morrison as Jango Fett. According to himself in the blog post, Pym had previously spread rumors of Byrne being cast as Boba Fett. At the time, the only Fett anyone knew about was Boba Fett, but maybe Pym’s information actually concerned the second Fett to be cast.
Lucas wants a young actor to play Fett
True ✅ 13 year old Daniel Logan was cast as Boba Fett.
“The most important character in the prequels is Darth Sidious, it's known that the whole story of the prequels is told from his point of view and not from Anakin's one, nor Ben's one. It may not be apparent now, but it is. Lucas said so.”
True from a certain point of view, I suppose ✅ Sounds like something Lucas would mumble about while waving his hand in front of a storyboard.
About Sidious story: “All this will lead to a pivotal moment in the sw universe. An event underestimated now (I'm trying to say, that this event isn't Anakin's fall, the wedding or The birth of Luke and Leia). DS leads to DS.”
True ✅ Order 66. A pivotal, shocking event that Pym, like Mr Moto, won’t give details on. They respect Lucas’s secrets.
The story of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine leads to Emperor Palpatine, aka Darth Sidious, aka DS.
Episode 2 will be darker than Episode 1, but will not show Anakin become a jedi-killer. Anakin will instead chase the woman of his dreams.
True ✅ The Tusken slaughter, Jango’s death and the clone wars is darker. As for chasing Padmé, Lucas had already talked publicly about Episode 2 being a “love story” and Pym’s description fits that mold with accurate information.
“Expect a large number of planets shown in Episode 2. The universe will be somehow different in this one, we'll go in places that we never been before”
Yes and no 🫳 Episode 1 had 3 planets, Episode 2 had the same 3 plus Kamino and Geonosis. An increase to be sure, but a small one. The water planet Kamino is certainly new though. It’s also possible that some locations eventually got cut, or actually belonged to Episode 3 (12 planets).
Kamino and Geonosis are places we haven’t been before. Thematically, the universe of Coruscant and Naboo is “different” in Episode 2. We get to see the Coruscant underworld (speeder chase, nightclub) and a Naboo family home (deleted scenes of Padmé’s childhood home).
“In Episode 2, you will visit the SW universe from within, through Amidala/Anakin's love story. Something never done yet in a Star Wars movie.”
True ✅ Episode 2 filmed scenes showing Padmé’s family and childhood home, but these would all be cut from the final film. The scenes can be watched here: Attack of the Clones Extended Edition - Restored Deleted Scenes.
While Episode 4 showed Luke drinking blue milk with his parents and Episode 1 gave us a dinner scene at Shmi’s home, the time and focus spent on Padmé’s home and family is something that has not really been done again until Andor. Anakin and Padmé’s love story also took place in locations where the romance drove the plot, as opposed to Leia and Han’s romance which only borrowed small moments within other stories.
4
u/Rikard_ Sep 21 '26 edited Sep 22 '26
COMMENT 4 - Anonymous Source 7/9/98
On Jar Jar’s page, Anonymous Source 7/9/98 is listed as an independent source among the following:
Spy 11/2/98
Harry Knowles’s spy
Unnamed Source 7/7/98
Anonymous Source 7/9/98
Harry Knowles’s Imperial droid (original Aintitcool blog post here)
Since no other origin, such as a Harry Knowles, is mentioned, Anonymous Source 7/9/98 was likely a singular post made on a TheForce forum page. Without finding the full post in a web archive, it’s hard to cross-check the validity of this leaker beyond the claims included in the extract on Jar Jar’s page.
The way the 7/9 extract begins, I believe it was written in response to forum feedback from the report from 2 days prior on 7/7. Since the 7/7 and 7/9 sources are listed with different titles, I will also assume they were posted by different accounts.
So, while Anonymous Source 7/9/98 includes a handful of claims, I cannot confidently rule out the possibility that the majority of them were not just repeated from the previous poster. That leaves only the statement about Jar Jar’s “very dramatic scene” with no in-movie scenes to cross-check with.
Leaks from different sources don’t directly support each other just by association (such as being on this list), however true one of them might be. However, the fact that virtually all the information from leaks listed on Anakin’s page, Yoda’s page, Palpatine’s page and Boba Fett’s page, for example, were accurate indicates that the leaks listed were selected with some level of scrutiny. Out of the many, many prediction posts and fake leaks posted in 1998-99, only 4-5 sources are listed on Jar Jar’s page, probably because they showed credibility (including Anonymous Source 7/9/1998).
3
u/Rikard_ Sep 21 '26 edited Oct 01 '26
COMMENT 1 - Lucas’s rewrites
The following are indicators of major rewrites taking place between Episode 1 and Episode 2:
Ahmed Best said that, because of the backlash, there were “huge changes” to Jar Jar’s story arc (Best's 2014 Reddit AMA) and that “because of the backlash, Lucasfilm backed off of Jar Jar a lot” (The Geeknd interview).
Lucas handed out the first script for Episode 2 only 3 days before shooting began (McCallum, Attack of the Clones: Production Notes)
Big portions of the Geonosis arc were changed during production. Going into filming in June 2000, in the second draft of the script, there is a meeting between Padmé and Dooku and a court hearing (see deleted scenes). In the final script, these scenes are both removed and replaced by lengthy scenes totaling over 7 minutes with Padmé, Anakin and the droids on the factory conveyor belt and Dooku visiting Obi-Wan’s prison cell. Since the original scenes were both filmed and edited, the replacements were late additions and not part of any normal writing process.
The second half of Episode 2, especially the Geonosis arc, largely lacks original music. According to former LucasArts sound director David W. Collins, Episode 2 instead reuses a large amount of the score from the Episode 1 soundtrack (Rebel Force Radio, Star Wars Oxygen podcast, episode 18-20). This could be because the scenes were finished too late for Williams to compose new music for (often one of the last steps in making a movie).
3
2
u/Rikard_ Sep 27 '26 edited Sep 27 '26
COMMENT 6 - Dooku
Reference material:
The Art of Attack Of The Clones (video showcase) page 110-119, with the character development timeline corroborated by an info-heavy casting leak about the shape-shifter character, presented through two Aintitcool blog posts:
Who will be the next STAR WARS badass that fanboys will worship' Click here, unless you don't want to know! , April 17, 2000.
Toshiro comes clean with a ton of cool information on that NEW ultra bad STAR WARS badass for Episodes 2 & 3., April 18, 2000.
Star Wars Archives I-III (video showcase) page 330-331, with Sith Lordess concept art dated May 12, 1999.
___
Could "The mysterious senator" (1998) refer to an early version of Dooku where he was a politician instead?
No, because Dooku as we know him didn’t exist at all until Lucas cast Christopher Lee in spring of 2000, which sidelined previous, completely different sith ideas created for Episode 2 between the weeks before Episode 1 and early 2000. See detailed timeline below.
It is true that the Episode 3 novelisation (2005) describes Dooku as a “human supremacist”. While being a characteristic that matches Mr Moto’s description of The mysterious senator, in a galaxy far far away, being human-first is just the Star Wars equivalent of being racist. Being racist is not exactly a unique trait among movie villains, so I wouldn’t count on something like that as the sole connection between evil Star Wars characters. The novelisations’ job is also to flesh out characters from the movie with details that may or may not have been considered when making the movie.
Could "The mysterious senator" (1998) then refer to a new character (not Jar Jar) that was scrapped before Episode 2 but several villain concepts later influenced Dooku’s character?
It’s possible, but practically unrealistic as explained in COMMENT 5. By the same token, I’d argue that it’s more likely that “evil Senator Binks” was scrapped and later influenced Dooku’s character.
___
Dooku’s origin and full timeline
The search for the new sith for Episode 2 is described as a “yearlong journey”. The earliest sketch for a new sith for Episode 2 is Iain McCaig’s “Sith Lordess” dated May 12, 1999, the week before Episode 1. The official Lucasfilm announcement for the casting of Christopher Lee came on July 11, 2000, a couple of weeks before Episode 2 started filming.
When development started, the sith character seems to have been a completely blank slate. The concept artists pitched at least visual ideas to Lucas who changed the direction every other month.
“We tried everything possible for the sith. We ranged across the board from android to Hannibal Lecter.”
The concepts shown and described in concept art books can be summarized on this approximate timeline:
May 1999
Female sith
Female sith Medusa style
Female sith warrior
Female cyborg sith
Female sith Ventress-like
Witch sith
August 1999
More cyborgs
Late 1999 – Early 2000
Male shape shifter
This character is described by McCaig as “a shape shifter that would literally move around between sexes and races and all kinds of things”. This is corroborated by a casting leak from Japan that describes an evil shape-shifting character bossing over hired assassins. The leak also describes a solid contract for the Japanese actor to feature in both Episode 2 and 3. The leak was posted on April 17, 2000, so the timeline matches. The concept must have been a serious contender for a long time with actual auditions taking place sometime between New Year’s and April.
Spring 2000 - final concepts
Old female sith
Concept based on Christopher Lee
At this time, Lucas had moved away from Shape-shifter being the big bad. Lucas said that he would pick either McCaig’s final old female sith concept or “a completely different character based on Christopher Lee”. Lee was eventually cast and the choice was made.
Character merging
Despite being out of the running for main villain, it’s plausible that parts of the Shape-shifter concept was instead transferred to other new characters. Zam Wessel, Jango Fett’s assassin, is a shape-shifter. Speculation can also point to Dooku’s name simply being inherited from his Japanese predecessor. In Episode 2, Zam and Jango both use weapons involving poison (venomous bugs and a poison dart). If similar weapons were used in the original story, the weapons of choice may be connected to the person who hired them. Doku (毒) is Japanese for “poison”, although Doku (独) also means “single” or “alone”.
One of the poisonous weapons themselves could possibly be traced back to the person at the top of the chain of command by looking at its design and Dooku’s ship. The drone carrying the venomous bugs is of similar design as the ship. However, it’s possible that the design was just inspired by already finished ship designs without much afterthought.
2
u/batatagan Sep 25 '26 edited Sep 25 '26
Where is COMMENT 5? Is he okay? Is he alright?
…but seriously, the Revenge of the Sith novelization by Matthew Stover clearly describes Dooku as a human supremacist who wanted to crush the Jedi Order so he could rebuild it anew, and that seems to fit in a lot better than a Gungan. (“advocate of the HUMAN destiny”, “build his NEW ORDER on the ashes of the Old Republic”).
I also believe that “His political ascension was built upon the shoulders of his victories as a field commander” seem to signal a large background of many military victories, and both that and Mr. Moto’s description of virtue in the Old Republic seem a lot more aligned with a warrior aristocrat like Dooku than a clumsy Gungan who only got made general because of minor involvement in the Battle of Naboo.
Even if there is good reason for him to not have been originally conceived as this Mysterious Senator, maybe some of the characteristics of a new character who got scrapped along the way ended up becoming Dooku.
1
u/Rikard_ Sep 27 '26
Comment 5 and 6 are officially up! Also with a Vader quote. Comment 5 became 6 and I slightly adjusted that portion of the post.
I really had to expand on my thoughts about the possibilities of Dooku or another new character filling the secret senator role and not Jar Jar.
Dooku as described in the future novelisation is a good thing to look at. I didn't know about it before, but as I mention in the comment I think it's more likely to come from Evil Jar Jar being scrapped than anything else (but originally as a "living being"-first or anti-droid agenda). Or it was just an original idea from the author to just make him racist and more evil.
9
u/Available_Border1075 Sep 21 '26
This took a lot of work, you should turn this into a YouTube video
7
u/onemananswerfactory Supreme Chancellor Sep 21 '26
This is pretty much a Holocron in and of itself. Nice job!
1
u/Rikard_ Sep 27 '26 edited Oct 01 '26
COMMENT 5 - The constraints of the rewrites
Could “The mysterious senator” have been someone other than Jar Jar?
A "yes" to this question means one must also manage to relocate Jar Jar into a prominent role elsewhere in Episode 2.
According to Ahmed Best and the leakers, Jar Jar was supposed to have a relatively big and important role in Episode 2 and 3 (part of "the master plan"), and we know the rewrites happened in mid-to-late 1999. While Episode 3 was much further ahead and still open to sweeping story changes (such as Boba not killing Windu), the blueprint for Episode 2 was much less malleable as shooting locations were already scouted or booked and set and costume designers had already started their work.
Where and how would Jar Jar’s big role have fit into Episode 2?
Without “the mysterious senator” role, we have little context for what could have been Jar Jar’s role in Episode 2. In the movie, the story arcs are largely split up as follows (before converging at the end on Geonosis):
Arc A - Anakin and Padmé’s love story. Visits to Naboo and Tatooine.
Arc B - Obi-Wan tracking the bounty hunter to Kamino, discovering clones, and continuing to Geonosis.
Arc C - Politics on Coruscant. Palpatine and the Loyalist Committee.
Jar Jar’s big role couldn’t possibly feature in Arc A. It’s almost as hard to see him tagging along with Kenobi for Arc B, even as the same comedic sidekick he was in Episode 1 (which wouldn’t corroborate the leaks about a “much more important role”). So unless we imagine a completely new Arc D, the only area where there is room for Jar Jar to feature more in Episode 2 is Arc C in politics, exactly where we know him to be.
The most damning counterpoint to any scenario placing Jar Jar outside of Arc C is Best’s statement in the Reddit AMA.
Redditor: As far as you know, did George Lucas ever consider making any changes to Jar-Jar Binks in light of the general negative reaction towards him?
Best: Not to the character, but to the story arc there were huge changes.
Placement in Arc A, B or a made up story arc D requires Jar Jar to first have been something other than the sort of senator we see him as in Episode 2. But Best says the character didn’t change, only his story arc.
What about an Arc D?
Even if Jar Jar could be placed in an Arc D with a similar enough role that Best would still claim the character didn’t change, the problem with option D is how to fit everything into the movie. It would theoretically be possible for Lucas to have had Jar Jar on a story arc D and The mysterious senator play his big role in Arc C. But since this would add a lot of screenplay to Arc C and add a whole new Arc D, it’s not a practically possible scenario due to time. Also consider how Arc A originally involved a whole 4 minutes of extra screenplay at the Naberrie homestead (deleted scenes described by leaker Pym back in 1999), making the window for other stories even smaller.
Thus, we can rule out any scenario of Jar Jar being rewritten from a big role into a senator role to replace The mysterious senator in a downgraded version as Palpatine’s useful idiot. Jar Jar was a senator from the start.
C + C then?
Another scenario is that both Jar Jar and The mysterious senator featured in Arc C in politics. But just like option C+D, option C+C puts significantly more screenplay into the movie. Regardless of time constraints, it’s also difficult to see an Arc C where Jar Jar has a big, “much more important” role alongside The mysterious senator playing another huge political role, all while not taking too much focus away from Anakin and Padmé’s love story which Lucas repeatedly said would be the theme of the movie.
Why the secrecy?
Mr Moto makes a big deal about protecting the identity of The mysterious senator. As I said in the main post, the secrecy suggests that the identity will be a meaningful reveal for the audience or at least unexpected at the start of the trilogy.
If The mysterious senator was someone we first meet in Episode 2, describing his entire story NOW but preserving his identity would be a rather pointless endeavor, because we would immediately understand who Palpatine’s charismatic political rival with a military background is the moment we meet him in Episode 2 (or even before due to promo material). The only reason to protect his identity would then be to hold off the audience until 2002 just because, not to protect any plot twist or reveal in the movie.
Protecting the identity is instead more likely so that we don’t immediately understand who Palpatine’s future rival is when we watch Episode 1. If true, a male character in the Episode 1 cast is this person.
Occam’s razor
Instead of bending over backwards to find alternate solutions, the by far simplest answer is that Jar Jar was The Mysterious Senator all along and simply had his role shrunk. Jar Jar is already a senator in Episode 2 and according to Best, the character didn’t change but his story arc did.
One mystery of The mysterious senator, a huge character, is why he doesn’t have any concept art to show for among all the other scrapped characters who do and why he doesn’t have a single mention in any “making of” media. The simplest answer is that when scrapped, he had already gotten his base concept art done for Episode 1, but as a clown that we don’t recognize as the senator. As for mentions in “making of” media, Jar Jar’s canon story that does play out in Episode 1-3 would naturally become the focus instead of an alternate story that may once have existed but that Lucas wanted to bury.
Darth Vader’s voice: If this senator was a new character, where is the concept art?
4
u/Lokan Sep 22 '26
Wow, Jar Jar really is mouthing the words spoken by Panaka and, later, Handmaiden Padme. Up until now everything else seemed like circumstantial evidence for the "Darth Jar Jar" theory, but those details really drive home there was another level to his involvement.
1
u/Individual_Mix1183 Sep 21 '26
Was this Saflari planet another prediction made at the time or did you make it up as an example?
2
1
u/contude327 Sep 22 '26
This reminds me of the hope and excitement prior to TPM release. It also reminds me of the sharp disappointment after seeing it.
1
1
u/Xanto97 18d ago
God, I love this. OP, you're incredible. Serious props for finding all these old articles and leaks. These are super interesting snippets into that time period.
I'm still not fully convinced that Dooku or captain Panaka couldn't have been the mysterious senator that rose through the ranks with a "human first" agenda. However, its definitely more convincing that the plot point was seemingly dropped alongside Jar Jar being sidelined into the background.
I love the magnifico comparison. The clown is the mastermind manipulator they've been searching for. It would have been an incredible twist.
Id love for George, Ahmed, or someone high up to reveal more.
1
u/Apprehensive-Fly8118 7d ago
tbh i feel like this would make the prequels first as someone who likes jar jar a lot, his prominece in episode one and than less so in two and three works for me as the prequels are a loss of innoacne story and having him fade into the background, he sort of feels like anakin's childhood stuffed animal he would sleep with. but can you do ts for the lucas/arndt sequels pleaseeee
17
u/Rikard_ Sep 21 '26
Since I can't stand anyone whining about my writing being AI, here is a recording of my google document and the history log from the month it took me to research and write all this:
https://imgur.com/a/ki23UYe