Rebuild the Jedi Bob of the Galaxy, Explained – Destructoid

Star Wars and Lego have been together like a glass of blue milk on a hot Tatooine day for 25 years, dominating toy departments across the globe in the process. From delivering countless versions of the Millennium Falcon, X-Wings, and Death Stars to storming the gaming world 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, teaming up for countless Lego Star Wars specials over the years. The latest in this long line of offers, Lego Star Wars: Rebuild the Milky Wayseems to be the most exciting and self-referential so far.

The four-part Rebuild the Milky Way miniseries spotlights Sig Greebling (Gaten Matarazzo), who uses an ancient relic to accidentally rewrite history. What follows is all sorts of craziness, with Jar Jar Binks (Ahmed Best) becoming a Sith Lord, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) abandoning his Jedi responsibilities to become a beach bum, and more. There are enough jokes and Easter eggs along the way to last a long time Star Wars and Lego Star Wars fans to enjoy. The most arguably deepest cut in the entire series is the existence of Sig’s ally, Jedi Bob (Bobby Moynihan), who, despite being unknown to many fans, has a fascinating story and a large pre-existing fanbase behind him.

Now let’s travel to a galaxy of rocks far, far away to look back at the history of Jedi Bob.

The Origin of Jedi Bob

Lego hit the nail on the head with its original series from 1999 Star Wars products that provide both collectors and children with original trilogies and Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace sets in abundance. The working relationship between the two brands continued into the new millennium, reaching a new high in 2002 with the release of more original trilogy sets and sets based on the recently released Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the ClonesHowever you look at it, the crème de la crème of the year’s assortment was set 7163, the Republic Gunship, first seen in the aforementioned prequel during the Battle of Geonosis.

Although Lego still had some initial problems with its Star Wars offers, the first Republic Gunship did justice to its movie counterpart. The sculpt and colors are fairly accurate, and the selection of minifigures makes sense… almost. In addition to four Republic clone troopers, two Separatist super battle droids, and a droideka, there’s a Jedi. Not Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson), not Yoda (Frank Oz), not any of the many named supporting Jedi present on Geonosis in the final act of Attack of the ClonesJust your average Jedi with brown and gray robes, a green lightsaber, a gray beard and a smile on his face.

No name on the box or in the set manual, in 2009 Lego Star Wars: The Visual Dictionaryit was suggested that this random Jedi’s name would be Bob, as fans had previously speculated, and the rest is history.

Reaching meme status

Star Wars Fans love few things more than a zany side character with no backstory, no real canon significance, and a funny name. Jedi Bob fit the bill. In the years since he was introduced, fans have embraced him like a Lego Star Wars icon. His one appearance in the Lego Star Wars line has been celebrated for decades, and as the years have passed, he has become a sought-after minifigure. On the second-hand Lego marketplace Bricklink (where he is simply referred to as “Jedi Knight”), new, used, complete, and incomplete examples of the original Jedi Bob minifigure go for a pretty penny.

Jedi Bob has not only become a beloved symbol of Lego Star Wars and a sought-after collector’s item, but it has also achieved meme status within the Lego Star Wars fandom. The Star Wars Memes Wiki gives him a fantastic backstory, painting him as one of the most powerful and important Jedi to ever enter the galaxy. Meanwhile, on Reddit, specifically r/PrequelMemes, you can find tons of posts focused on Bob. Some do the same as the Wiki, giving him a wild history and adding him to the broader Star Wars canon, while others simply put him in the spotlight, thus maintaining his relevance as his Lego Star Wars debut slides further back in time.

Luckily for Bob’s large fan base, the folks at Lego and Lucasfilm don’t seem to have forgotten about him, and are doing everything they can to surprise those who have waited decades for him to shine.

Jedi Bob returns to plastic form

Considering how beloved and talked about Jedi Bob is among Lego Star Wars enthusiasts, it’s no surprise that excitement was high when it was unveiled as part of Rebuild the Milky Way. He had never appeared in Lego before Star Wars media earlier, so the fact that he finally got some of the spotlight, with Saturday Night Live icon Bobby Moynihan brought him to life was great news. It has now 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, ready to take on enemies of all shapes and sizes and, well, rebuild the galaxy brick by brick.

Join Rebuild the Milky WayLego has released two sets. The first is set 75389, the Dark Falcon, which comes with minifigures of Darth Rey, Darth Jar Jar, Jedi Darth Vader, Strand Luke Skywalker, Darth Dev, and bounty hunter C-3PO. The other is 75388, Jedi Bob’s Starfighter. As the name suggests, this is Bob’s personal ship, so it comes with an updated version of him, along with a Mon Calamari Imperial stormtrooper, also known as an Ackbar Trooper, and the droid SR-VO, or SERVO. For just $39.99, you can own the return of a Lego Star Wars legend and buy him in minifigure form if you don’t feel like paying aftermarket prices for the original.

Finally, Jedi Bob will return to the forefront Star Wars galaxy on September 13, when all four episodes of Lego Star Wars: Rebuild the Milky Way exclusively available on Disney+.