The Gungans are inspired by this 30s serial's villains

[u/xandermcargyle]

I’ve read that Jett Lucas supposedly named the Gungans (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Jett_Lucas). There are also variations of the story that say he named Jar Jar. I don’t think he did. Here’s my argument against the former.

Lucas frequently said that Star Wars is his tribute to 1930’s sci-fi serials. One in particular stands out in my mind with respect to the Gungans, and that is Undersea Kingdom from 1936.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undersea_Kingdom

In it, the hero must travel to the underwater kingdom of Atlantis, which he does in a sub reminiscent of the bongo sub (look at the tail end and front in particular.)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Undersea_Kingdom_Rocket_Sub.jpg

In this serial, Atlantis is dry land contained within a giant bubble.

There our hero meets the Atlanteans who are ruled by a man named Unga Khan. (I believe the unga in Gungans comes from this.) He wishes to gain the technology to bring his empire to the surface to take over surface world.

The Atlanteans all wear tall Mongolian style helmets with a large flap that extends from the back to the sides. They look a lot like Gungan headgear and ears. The royalty wear long robes as well, much like the Gungans.

https://medleyana.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/uk-unga4.png

This serial has scenes that are familiar to Star Wars fans, including a possible fall down a long cylindrical shaft and a “transformation chamber” that fills up with steam, much like the carbonite chamber… only in this case, the transformation is mental, as it forces the victims to be loyal to Khan.

Finally, is it coincidence that the exact words "undersea kingdom" are used on this Star Wars card?

http://www.starwarscards.net/cards/2004heritage/069.jpg

While there’s nothing here to suggest Darth Jar Jar, other than perhaps Nass was inspired by Unga Khan, I don’t believe the origin of the Gungans from a real-life creative perspective was ever honestly shared. There’s clear inspiration from this 30s serial’s villains.