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Princess Leia, original trilogy rule the Star Wars universe

In a new poll, the original trilogy beats the prequels, but more than a third say they have a favorable impression of Jar Jar Binks. Hold on!

Jason Parker Senior Editor / Reviews - Software
Jason Parker has been at CNET for nearly 15 years. He is the senior editor in charge of iOS software and has become an expert reviewer of the software that runs on each new Apple device. He now spends most of his time covering Apple iOS releases and third-party apps.
Jason Parker
2 min read
On the set of Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back

Carrie Fisher on the set of "The Empire Strikes Back," which was released in 1980.

Photo by Lucasfilm/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images

"Star Wars: The Last Jedi" hits theaters next week, and you probably don't need a poll to tell you that everyone is going to see it. Well, almost everyone. 

In a poll released this week, 49 percent of adults in the US said they will see the movie and 32 percent said they will see it in theaters. The poll from Morning Consult (PDF) was conducted earlier this month.

It also uncovered people's favorite Star Wars characters. Princess Leia proved to be the most popular, with 73 percent having a very or somewhat favorable opinion of her. Chewbacca, Yoda and Luke Skywalker all tied for second place at 72 percent. R2-D2 got 71 percent and that scruffy-looking nerf herder Han Solo scored a respectable 68 percent. Somehow, C-3PO (65 percent) handily beat out the starring droid of "The Force Awakens": BB-8 (39 percent).

By some miracle, more people had a favorable opinion of Jar Jar Binks, 37 percent, than an unfavorable view, 20 percent. (The rest either had no opinion or had never heard of him.)

As for the movies themselves, 94 percent of respondents found each of the original trilogy movies favorable. Perhaps less surprising for Star Wars fans (or anyone who saw the movies), the newer films "Force Awakens" and "Rogue One" won out over any of the prequels.

Those who say they liked Star Wars movies were mostly in the 30-44 age group, and they were also the most likely to have purchased a Star Wars product at some time. The poll of 2,200 adults was conducted Dec. 1-4. Its margin of error is plus or minus 2 percentage points.