By Boris S.
– Published on May 09, 2022 at 15:05
Flying into a galaxy far, far away is not given to everyone. The price of the ticket is even rather high. The chosen few cannot count on their fame alone to ensure they play in Star Wars. Michael Jackson paid the price. We tell you all about it!
A long time ago, in a galaxy not so far away, George Lucas was working on the casting of his prelogy. The director knew that he didn’t necessarily need famous names to attract his fans to dark rooms. Already in 1977, A New Hoper was carried by a sympathetic stranger, Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker). So, in the 90s, Lucas reviewed the Hollywood “names” available to join the cast of The Phantom Menace. On the celebrity side, the King of Pop has already made her a proposal.
If Jar Jar Binks still tops the ranking of the most hated characters in the saga today Star Wars, a huge celebrity might well have saved him the day. The character played by Ahmed Best was of great interest to Michael Jackson, an extra-terrestrial star in his genre who never stopped making foot calls to the 7th art throughout his career. The king of pop would have even passed a casting to try to get the role. During an interview given to Vice in 2015, Ahmed Best revealed that, according to George Lucas, “ Michael wanted to play the character but with prosthetics and makeup like in ‘Thriller’. Preferring digital special effects, the director refused the singer’s proposal.
Jar Jar Binks vu par Michael Jackson
Did Michael Jackson help make Jar Jar Binks more likeable? Without a doubt ! The debauchery of digital special effects did not contribute to the success of the prelogy. This technical constraint also posed many problems for the actors, starting with Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi) who did not necessarily know where to direct his gaze. According to Best however, Michael Jackson would have ended up cannibalizing the film, which George Lucas wanted at all costs to avoid. Actors like Liam Neeson or Samuel L. Jackson, for example, have been able to make their way through his galaxy without any star whims. A controversial singer for a character who is not unanimous? The idea was attractive on paper. Today she is telling a good anecdote to tell around a pot of popcorn!