Star Warsand Lego have gone together like a glass of blue milk on a hot Tatooine day for 25 years, dominating toy aisles around the world in the process. From supplying collectors with numerous takes on the Millennium Falcon, X-Wings, and Death Stars to taking the gaming world by storm on numerous occasions, the two powerhouse brands have found no shortage of prosperity during their time together. They’ve even taken over home media and streaming, coming together for numerous LegoStar Warsspecials throughout the years. The latest in this long line of offerings,Lego Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy, seems to be the most thrilling and self-referential one yet.
The four-partRebuild the Galaxyminiseries puts the spotlight on Sig Greebling (Gaten Matarazzo), who uses an ancient relic to accidentally rewrite history. What ensues is all kinds of craziness, with Jar Jar Binks (Ahmed Best) becoming a Sith Lord, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) abandoning his Jedi responsibilities to be a beach bum, and more. Along the way, there’s plenty of in-jokes and Easter eggs for longtimeStar Warsand LegoStar Warsfans to enjoy. The arguable deepest cut in the entire series is the very existence of Sig’s ally, Jedi Bob (Bobby Moynihan), who, despite being unknown to many fans, has a fascinating story and large preexisting fanbase behind him.
With that, let’s travel to a brick-built galaxy far, far away to look back on the lore behind Jedi Bob.
The origin of Jedi Bob
Lego swung for the fences with its original 1999 run ofStar Warsproducts, providing collectors and kids alike with original trilogy andStar Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menacesets galore. Thus, the two brands’ working relationship continued into the new millennium, hitting another high point in 2002 with the release of more original trilogy sets and those based on the recently releasedStar Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones. No matter how you slice it, the crème de la crème of the year’s assortment was set 7163, the Republic Gunship, as seen for the first time in the aforementioned prequel during the Battle of Geonosis.
Though Lego was still going through some growing pains with itsStar Warsofferings, the first Republic Gunship did justice to its film counterpart. The shape and colors are pretty accurate, and the minifigure selection makes sense…almost. Alongside four Republic clone troopers, two Separatist super battle droids, and a droideka is a Jedi. Not Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson), not Yoda (Frank Oz), not one of the many named supporting Jedi present on Geonosis in the final act ofAttack of the Clones. Just a generic Jedi with brown and gray robes, a green lightsaber, a gray beard, and a smile on his face.
With no name on the box or within the set’s manual, in 2009’sLego Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary, it was theorized that this random Jedi’s name is Bob, as fans had speculated previously, and the rest is history.
Attaining meme status
Star Warsfans love few things more than a goofy side-character without a backstory, any real significance to the canon, and a funny name. Thus, Jedi Bob very much fit the bill. In the years since he was introduced, fans have taken to him as a LegoStar Warsicon. His one appearance in the LegoStar Warsline has been celebrated for decades, and as the years have gone on, he has become a pretty sought-after minifigure. Over on the secondhand Lego marketplaceBricklink(where he’s designated as merely “Jedi Knight”), new, used, complete, and incomplete copies of the original Jedi Bob minifigure go for a pretty penny.
Not only has Jedi Bob become an adored symbol of LegoStar Warsand a coveted collectible, but he has also attained meme status within the LegoStar Warsfandom. TheStar Wars Memes Wikigives him a fantastical backstory, painting him as one of the galaxy’s most powerful and important Jedi ever. Meanwhile, over on Reddit, specifically r/PrequelMemes, one can find numerous Bob-centric posts. Some do the same as the Wiki andgive him a wild history and insert him into the widerStar Warscanon, whileothers simply shine a spotlight on him, maintaining his relevance as his LegoStar Warsdebut slips further into the past.
Thankfully for Bob’s sizable fanbase, it doesn’t seem the folks at Lego or Lucasfilm forgot about him, hence why they’re going all out for those who’ve waited decades for his time to shine.
Jedi Bob’s return to plastic form
Bearing in mind just how loved and talked-about Jedi Bob is among LegoStar Warsenthusiasts, it’s no surprise that excitement was high when he was revealed as part ofRebuild the Galaxy. He’d never appeared in LegoStar Warsmedia before, so the fact that he was finally getting some of the spotlight, withSaturday Night Liveicon Bobby Moynihan bringing him to life no less, was awesome news. It has since been revealed that Jedi Bob’s miraculous return after 22 years isn’t limited to animation. After all this time, he’s back in plastic form as well, ready to take on enemies of all shapes and sizes and, well, rebuild the galaxy one brick at a time.
Tying intoRebuild the Galaxy, Lego has released two sets. First is set75389, the Dark Falcon, featuring minifigures of Darth Rey, Darth Jar Jar, Jedi Darth Vader, beach Luke Skywalker, Darth Dev, and bounty hunter C-3PO. The other is75388, Jedi Bob’s Starfighter. As the name implies, this is Bob’s personal ship, so it comes with an updated version of him, in addition to a Mon Calamari Imperial stormtrooper, also known simply as an Ackbar Trooper, and the droid SR-VO, or SERVO. For just $39.99, you’re able to commemorate the return of a LegoStar Warslegend and get him in minifigure form if you’re not keen on paying aftermarket prices for the original.
At long last, Jedi Bob will return to the forefront of theStar Warsgalaxy on September 13, when all four episodes ofLego Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxyarrive exclusively on Disney+.
