Senator Jar Jar Binks commemorative drinking cup

The subject of this article appeared only in a Star Wars Tales 1–20 story that was referenced in no other Star Wars Legends source.

Lucasfilm considered all Tales 1–20 content that was not "completely outrageous or intentionally comic" to have some level of canonicity within the Star Wars Legends continuity. Editor discretion is advised.

"MESA THIRSTY! MEEESA THIRSTY!"

―The "talking action" of the Senator Jar Jar Binks commemorative drinking cup^[1]

A Senator Jar Jar Binks commemorative drinking cup was a type of drinking container made in the likeness of the Gungan senator Jar Jar Binks. While attempting to collect a bounty on the senator on the desert planet Tatooine, the bounty hunter Melvin Fett encountered a Jawa sipping soda from one such cup. Confusing the souvenir with the Gungan, Fett seized the item, content that he had captured his target.

Description[]

"HOW WUDE!"

―One of the cup's phrases^[1]

A Senator Jar Jar Binks commemorative drinking cup was a small handheld container designed to hold beverages, such as soda. Its contents could be sipped out of a flexible straw. The white cup was inscribed with the name "JAR JAR" and topped with an orange lid sculpted in the fashion of the Gungan senator Jar Jar Binks. The sculpt depicted the Gungan's head and arms, with the straw rising out from the back of the neck. The cup featured "talking action" and was able to dictate phrases in the recognizable voice of Binks.^[1]

History[]

"MESA THIRSTY."
"…Actually, I'm thirsty, too, Jar Jar!"

―The cup and Melvin Fett^[1]

Melvincapturesbinks — Melvin Fett captures the Senator Jar Jar Binks commemorative drinking cup.

At some point after the death of Padmé Amidala in 19 BBY,^[2] the bounty hunter Melvin Fett, cousin of famed hunter Boba Fett, traveled to the planet Tatooine, hoping to collect a bounty on the Gungan senator Jar Jar Binks and thereby prove his worth to other bounty hunters. However, he grew dehydrated during his search and would have wandered the planet's deserts endlessly had he not come across a Jawa slurping a cold, blue soda from a Senator Jar Jar Binks commemorative drinking cup.^[1]

Mistaking the beverage container for the actual senator, Fett pulled his blaster and prepared to shoot the cup but instead tripped on a rock, flinging the weapon into the air. The blaster slammed into the Jawa's head, sending the souvenir cup flying from the humanoid's hands and into Fett's. Content that he had completed his mission, Fett stated to the cup that no bounty hunter would laugh at him again and confided that he, too, was thirsty.^[1]

Behind the scenes[]

"Thanks guys! It was a pleasure to draw the Jar Jar Binks sippy cup (which I actually own)."

―James Kochalka, replying to fans on Twitter^[3]

Kochalka Jar Jar cup — James Kochalka's real-world Jar Jar Binks cup

A Senator Jar Jar Binks commemorative drinking cup appeared in "Melvin Fett," a story contained in the comic book Star Wars Tales 20. The story was written and illustrated by James Kochalka and published by Dark Horse Comics^[1] on June 30, 2004.^[4]

The Senator Jar Jar Binks commemorative drinking cup is based on a real-world product owned by Kochalka^[3] that was sold by the fast-food chain Pizza Hut to promote the 1999 prequel trilogy film, Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace.^[5] Kochalka considers the cup to be a beloved item^[6] and incorporated it into several strips of American Elf,^[7] a long-running series of short autobiographical comics.^[8]