Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau Discuss the Future of Ahmed Best's Kelleran Beq in STAR WARS
One of the most exciting and talked about moments in The Mandalorian Season 3 is when Jar Jar Binks actor Ahmed Best showed up as a Jedi named Kelleran Beq who helps little Grugu escape death after Order 66 is executed.
Fans have been hoping to see more of the character, and while he didn’t show up in the remainder of the series, filmmakers Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau teased his return. During a recent interview with EW, Filoni said:
"It's always a possibility. We love Ahmed, and he did such a great job. It was a real thrill for us to get him involved."
I’d bet money on Ahmed appearing in the series again because I have no doubt that we are going to get to see more of Grugu’s backstory, which Kelleran Beq is obviously a big part of. Filoni goes on to say that the idea to incorporate Best's Beq came early in the development process, saying:
"We talked with him about it. We come up with these ideas and we think: Who might work with it? We make sure before we get too far to bring them into the process, so it's not just like, 'Here's who you're going to play.' It's like, 'What do you think of this? We want you to be this person. What are your thoughts on it?' [We try to] make it a real collaboration and think it's really key to the success of it."
Favreau went on to talk about the character and working with Best, saying:
"He had done a lot of work on that character of Kelleran Beq for Jedi Temple Challenge. So he's been involved with Star Wars all the way through and definitely had formulated this character. And we love to draw from all of Star Wars, and even things that aren't canon. If they feel right, we'll pull 'em in. And now that character exists squarely in Star Wars canon."
Favreau added, "I think people dig seeing that character. I want to learn more about that character." When previously talking about jumping into The Mandalorian, Best said:
“Honestly, I had to think about it. I’ve been in the Star Wars world for such a long time and my story is such a rollercoaster ride of emotions. So coming back to Star Wars wasn’t an easy decision for me. It wasn’t something I could have immediately said yes to. I did have to marinate over it for a bit. I mean, I was excited. I don’t think people really understand how much I care about Star Wars. Like, I really care. I really, really care about the storytelling, about the mythology, about the fans. I really want Star Wars to deliver, and if I become an obstacle to that, then I shouldn’t be in it. I don’t want to be bigger than the story. I don’t want to be bigger than the mythology. I want to contribute, I want to add to it. So it took me a minute.”
I'm happy to see Best jump in on this project. He was great and I’ll be looking forward to his return!