Michael Jackson wanted to play Jar Jar Binks in Star Wars
Ahmed Best recounted the story in his 2015 Vice interview. The King of Pop wanted to do the role in prosthetics like Thriller. George Lucas wanted CGI.
Before Ahmed Best put on the motion-capture suit and became one of the most polarizing characters in cinema history, Michael Jackson was lobbying to play Jar Jar Binks in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.
Per Best’s 2015 Vice interview, the King of Pop was not casually interested. He wanted the role. Jackson envisioned performing the character in practical prosthetics and Thriller-style makeup. George Lucas was committed to CGI. The disagreement was the whole reason it never happened.
The Wembley backstage moment
Best, Natalie Portman, and Lucas’s children attended a Jackson concert at Wembley Arena during the HIStory World Tour. They went backstage afterward and met Jackson and his then-wife Lisa Marie Presley.
Best’s full account from the Vice interview: “Me, Natalie Portman, and George’s kids, we were at Wembley arena at Michael Jackson’s concert. We were taken backstage and we met Michael. There was Michael and Lisa Marie. George introduced me as ‘Jar Jar’ and I was like, that’s kind of weird. Michael was like, ‘Oh. OK.’ I thought, what is going on?“
“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. My guess is ultimately Michael Jackson would have been bigger than the movie, and I don’t think he wanted that.“
That last sentence is the key one. The Phantom Menace was already the most anticipated film in two decades. Adding Jackson, at the absolute peak of his global fame, as a major character would have shifted every conversation about the film toward the casting coup. Lucas kept the focus on the movie itself.
Ahmed Best made motion-capture history
Best took the role and made history. He was the first actor to play a main character in a live-action feature film created entirely through motion-capture technology. The territory he pioneered was later expanded by Andy Serkis in The Lord of the Rings and the Planet of the Apes reboots.
Best was originally hired to provide only motion-capture data for the 7-foot-tall Gungan. His offer to also voice the character was accepted by Lucas.
The backlash after the film’s 1999 release was severe. Best has spoken openly about how the response sent him into a years-long depression and how the character “began and ended“ his acting career for a long time.
Best returned to the Star Wars franchise as Jedi Master Kelleran Beq in The Book of Boba Fett and The Mandalorian. The heroic arc has been widely celebrated by fans as an overdue redemption.
Jackson’s deep nerd roots
Jackson’s interest in Star Wars was not a random celebrity whim. He was a genuine fan. He reportedly kept life-size statues of Darth Vader, Boba Fett, and C-3PO at Neverland Ranch.
His love for science fiction and fantasy had already intersected with Lucas’s world years earlier.
In 1986, Jackson starred in the 3D short film Captain EO, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Lucas served as executive producer and co-writer alongside Coppola and Rusty Lemorande. The 17-minute film was shown exclusively at Disney theme parks. Its reported budget of $23 to $30 million made it, at the time, the most expensive film ever made on a per-minute basis. Roughly $1.76 million per minute of finished film.
Jackson played the titular Captain EO, a space captain leading a crew of alien companions to bring music and harmony to a desolate world ruled by an evil queen played by Anjelica Huston. Coppola named the character after Eos, the Greek goddess of the dawn.
The film premiered on September 12, 1986 at the Magic Eye Theater in Epcot’s Imagination pavilion. The premiere was attended by Jackson alongside Mark Hamill, Whoopi Goldberg, Belinda Carlisle, and Jack Nicholson. Captain EO ran at Disney parks from 1986 to 1998, then returned from 2010 to 2015 as a tribute following Jackson’s death in 2009. Its final showing was at Epcot on December 6, 2015.
Captain EO was a passion project. Jackson played a heroic space captain fighting evil with music and dance. The collaboration with Lucas and Coppola showed how seriously Jackson took his forays into cinematic storytelling.
Why prosthetics over CGI mattered to Jackson
Jackson’s preference for prosthetics over CGI makes sense in the context of his career. He had already transformed himself into a werewolf and a zombie in the Thriller video using practical effects from legendary makeup artist Rick Baker, who also worked on Captain EO. Jackson enjoyed the theatricality of becoming a character through makeup and performance rather than digital trickery.
Had Jackson gotten the role, the marketing alone would have shifted the conversation. “Michael Jackson is Jar Jar Binks” as a 1999 movie tagline would have created its own news cycle independent of the film itself. The discourse around the character, already intense, would have been nuclear.
Whether Jackson’s star power would have softened the reception or buried the movie under his celebrity is open to debate. Lucas chose the CGI route and cast the then-unknown Best. The rest is controversial history.
The Michael Jackson renaissance
Stories like this are resurfacing because of a broader cultural reappraisal of Jackson’s artistic ambitions.
The long-gestating biopic Michael, directed by Antoine Fuqua with a screenplay by John Logan, released on April 24, 2026. Jackson’s nephew Jaafar Jackson took on the role of his uncle. The film carried a reported $155 million budget, was distributed by Lionsgate domestically and Universal internationally, and featured Colman Domingo and Nia Long as Joe and Katherine Jackson and Miles Teller as attorney John Branca.
New generations are discovering Jackson’s catalog through the biopic and revisiting the parts of his career that extended beyond music. The film projects. The love of fantasy and sci-fi. The wild what-if scenarios that never came to pass.
Jackson was not content to just be the biggest pop star in the world. He wanted to be a movie star. He wanted to play iconic characters. He wanted to collaborate with Lucas and Coppola. Captain EO proved he could do it on his own terms.
Star Wars was the one that got away. Best got to be Jar Jar Binks. Jackson stayed the biggest star in the universe, just not the one with the floppy ears.
Article compiled and edited by Derek Gibbs (entertainment editor) and the Clownfish TV newsroom.
D/REZZED is part of Clownfish TV. For more news, views, and rants on gaming, tech, and pop culture, visit clownfishtv.com. Watch the show on YouTube at @ClownfishTV where new episodes drop daily. Subscribe to the Clownfish TV podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart, and wherever else you get your podcasts. Sign up for the free newsletter at more.clownfishtv.com.
Hat Tips:
Ahmed Best Vice interview (2015), primary source for the full quote about the Wembley backstage meeting, the Lisa Marie Presley introduction, the prosthetics-versus-CGI disagreement with Lucas, and the “Michael Jackson would have been bigger than the movie” framing
The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, Rolling Stone, Screen Crush, original 2015 coverage of the Best revelations
People (2024), verified 25th anniversary interview with Ahmed Best on his Star Wars legacy and Kelleran Beq return arc in The Book of Boba Fett and The Mandalorian
Wikipedia / Michael Jackson Wiki / AllEars.Net / Fantha Tracks, verified Captain EO production history including the $23-30 million budget, the $1.76 million per minute calculation, the September 12, 1986 Epcot Magic Eye Theater premiere, the 1986-1998 and 2010-2015 Disney park run dates, and the December 6, 2015 final showing
MJVibe / Far Out Magazine, verified behind-the-scenes coverage of the Lucas, Coppola, and Jackson collaboration on Captain EO including the Anjelica Huston casting and the Rick Baker practical effects context
Deadline / Variety / Billboard / Rolling Stone Australia, verified Michael biopic coverage including the April 24, 2026 release date, $155 million budget, Antoine Fuqua direction, John Logan screenplay, Jaafar Jackson casting, Lionsgate domestic and Universal international distribution, and Colman Domingo, Nia Long, and Miles Teller supporting cast