Ahmed Best Teases The Future of Jedi Kelleran Beq in THE MANDALORIAN and What Sets Him Apart From Other Jedi
Star Wars fans were first introduced to Ahmed Best through the polarizing character of Jar Jar Binks, a digitally created Gungan whose role in the franchise still sparks debate decades after The Phantom Menace dropped in 1999.
But in recent years, Best has quietly rewritten his Star Wars story, this time as a Jedi with a lightsaber in hand. He returned to the galaxy far, far away in The Mandalorian as Jedi Master Kelleran Beq, the mysterious warrior who rescued Grogu during Order 66.
His appearance was brief, but it hit hard. And now, Best is ready for more. Best told ComicBook at Star Wars Celebration:
“I’m always ready to put the robe back on. I know where he went in my head, so hopefully we can make that real one of these days. That was just so much fun to do.”
If you caught Beq slicing through clone troopers like a Force-powered warrior, it might not surprise you to learn Best is a trained martial artist. He originally developed Kelleran Beq for Jedi Temple Challenge, a Star Wars kids' game show, and when talking about that action sequence, he said:
“That was just one-tenth of one percent of what I can do. So to be able to do a full-length [version] of that would be a dream come true.”
While Best has warmed up to the idea of Jar Jar finding some love again, he’s not particularly interested in dusting off the Gungan’s floppy ears. Beq is where his heart is, he’s not just another saber-wielding Jedi; he’s a teacher, qnd that’s what sets him apart.
Best said: “I think there’s a lot of Jedi stories to be told. There have been a lot of reluctant teachers as Jedi in Star Wars. When we met Yoda for the first time, he didn’t want to teach Luke Skywalker. When we meet Anakin for the first time, Yoda and Mace Windu and Obi-Wan Kenobi are like, ‘Don’t teach this kid.’”
Kelleran Beq is different. Teaching isn’t something he’s talked into—it’s his purpose.
“Kelleran Beq wants to be a teacher. That’s the calling,” Best said. “And even though Kelleran is one of the baddest Jedi to ever put the robes on, his passion is to raise Jedi.
‘So I would love to see that idea that teachers are superheroes and to really talk about what that means as far as being a Jedi goes and as far as training the new Jedi coming up.”
Here’s hoping Lucasfilm eventually decides to continue the Beq’s story in some way.