Ahmed Best

2023 - 3 - 22

Post cover — Image courtesy of "Los Angeles Times"

Jar Jar Binks actor Ahmed Best is now a 'Mandalorian' Jedi (Los Angeles Times)

Ahmed Best, who played Jar Jar Binks in the 'Star Wars' prequel trilogy, makes a triumphant return to that universe as a vaunted 'Mandalorian' Jedi.

Amazing!,” ](https://twitter.com/Steg68/status/1638680077213761536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1638680077213761536%7Ctwgr%5E540e857198f6e2220360f60fab54db9c5fe107c3%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcms.caltimes.com%2Fcms%2Fcontent%2FexternalPreviewFrame%3Furl%3Dhttps3A2F2Ftwitter.com2FSteg682Fstatus2F1638680077213761536) [another user](https://twitter.com/Steg68/status/1638680077213761536) wrote. [intense backlash](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-may-26-ca-40965-story.html) he faced over the Jar Jar Binks character landed him in a deep depression. [tweeted](https://twitter.com/Pinko69420/status/1638560282556473344). Rather than reprise his role as the Gungan whom an especially vocal majority of the “Star Wars” fandom [loved to hate](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-may-26-ca-40965-story.html), Best this time portrayed a Jedi named Kelleran Beq. “ “Gratitude! You love to see it.” [The Star Wars Academy](https://twitter.com/TheStarWarsAcad/status/1638568536808341504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1638568536808341504%7Ctwgr%5Eb1eb6b59cf6470fccc4fc36cbea7c788ed7c866e%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcms.caltimes.com%2Fcms%2Fcontent%2FexternalPreviewFrame%3Furl%3Dhttps3A2F2Ftwitter.com2FTheStarWarsAcad2Fstatus2F1638568536808341504) weighed in, tweeting, “In 1999, Ahmed Best appeared in his first major screen role as a character named Jar Jar Binks. “It hit me. It came right for me. It was debilitating. (The Times’ [Kenneth Turan called Binks](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-may-18-ca-38249-story.html) “a major miscue, a comic-relief character who’s frankly not funny.”) [Jar Jar Binks](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-jun-05-ca-44269-story.html) in the “Star Wars” prequel films, made a surprise cameo on the Disney+ series nearly 20 years after his final appearance in the trilogy.

Ahmed Best on Joining Mandalorian Cast: 'Good to Be Back' (Vulture)

Ahmed Best played Kelleran Beq in season 3 of the Mandalorian, where he helped Grogu escape Order 66. Best also played Jar-Jar Binks and received death ...

To celebrate rejoining the Rebel Alliance, Best posted a gym selfie of him wearing a shirt with the Jedi Order symbol on it. Shows what we know, since it now turns out this game show host is also who the Jedi Temple trusts Baby Yoda with when the order was given to kill all Jedi. That’s a lot of Star Wars nonsense to throw at a person, so we’ll back up.

'The Mandalorian': Ahmed Best Returns to Star Wars After Jar Jar ... (Variety)

Jar Jar Binks actor Ahmed Best made a surprise 'Star Wars' return as a Jedi in 'The Mandalorian'

I felt tired of having to defend myself and defend my work. I felt tired of having to fight back against racism and the racial stereotypes. I felt tired of having to explain myself. I didn’t see the towers [or] the potential of hard work and ingenuity. Best is most known for playing Jar Jar in the “Star Wars” prequel movies, a controversially unpopular role for which he was ridiculed. The episode ends without showing where Kelleran and Grogu fly off to, opening up the possibility of Best to reappear later on.

Jar Jar Binks Actor Ahmed Best Returns To The 'Star Wars' Universe ... (Deadline)

Ahmed Best is getting a shot at redemption by returning to the Star Wars universe as a Jedi in The Mandalorian.

Before that, Best made a cameo as Achk Med-Beq in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones. Audiences were not fond of the Gungan and the character was phased out in the subsequent films. Best shows up as a Jedi named Kelleran Beq who saves the child after finding him in an elevator as the attack takes place.

Mandalorian gives Jar Jar Binks' Ahmed Best a great Star Wars cameo (Polygon)

Star Wars' Ahmed Best is game show host Jedi Master Kelleran Beq in the fourth episode of The Mandalorian's third season. He previously played Jar Jar ...

He joins Andy Serkis on the list of Star Wars actors who’ve [gotten to use their actual face in a role](https://www.polygon.com/23425037/andor-andy-serkis-kino-loy-star-wars-snoke) after bringing life to one of the franchise’s most infamous all-CGI characters. It was basically Legends of the Hidden Temple, with Best as Beq and some droid buddies as hosts shepherding padawan duos (kid contestants) through physical and mental trials. In “The Foundling,” we get a whole Grogu flashback to the fall of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. [Ahmed Best](https://www.polygon.com/2018/7/4/17534724/star-wars-toxic-fandom-ahmed-best). But to observant Star Wars obsessives, the same scene is a showcase for an actor they know very well, in a role they probably never expected to see again. Jedi valiantly fall in battle with Clone Troopers, striving to protect the little guy’s hover pod and deliver him to Jedi Master Kelleran Beq, played by none other than

Meesa back! Jar Jar Binks actor Ahmed Best returns to <em>Star ... (EW.com)

The Mandalorian is busying itself in season 3 with more shady cloning practices and Din Djarin purifying himself in the waters of Lake Minnetonka…

Pershing](https://ew.com/tv/mandalorian-season-3-coruscant-doctor-pershing-explained/) Pershing](https://ew.com/tv/mandalorian-season-3-coruscant-doctor-pershing-explained/). [Dagobah Dispatch ](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dagobah-dispatch-an-ew-star-wars-podcast/id1487489835) [podcast](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dagobah-dispatch-an-ew-star-wars-podcast/id1487489835) recently discussed how The Mandalorian could be just the place for a Jar Jar sighting (how old do Gungans get anyway?), but it's not happened… Whether this Beq and friend Dannl Faytonno (C-3PO's Anthony Daniels) were there to buy Death Sticks is anyone's guess, but Best has said in the past that the two Beqs are indeed related. And forget about why Bo-Katan finally told someone about the [seemingly important Mythosaur sighting](https://ew.com/tv/the-mandalorian-bo-katan-katee-sackhoff-mythosaur-secret/). The actor first portrayed Kelleran Beq as the host of a 2020 online children's game show called Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge, in which teams of tykes would have to survive obstacle courses, test their knowledge in a quiz, and be tempted by the dark side.