‘The Mandalorian’: Dave Filoni Teases Return Of Ahmed Best’s Kelleran Beq

The return of the Best!

Ahmed Best Kelleran Beq The Mandalorian

The Mandalorian season 3 saw the return of Jar Jar Binks actor Ahmed Best as Jedi Kelleran Beq in a flashback of Grogu escaping the Jedi Temple during Order 66. In a recent interview, Ahsoka showrunner Dave Filoni hinted that may not be the last fans saw of Kelleran Beq.

Ahmed Best hasn’t had the brightest history with the Star Wars franchise. Despite playing a leading role in the prequel trilogy, the actor was meant with the full force of the fandom’s backlash at the time for playing Jar Jar Binks, which many fans saw as the embodiment of everything wrong with the trilogy. Best’s name mostly faded from the minds of fans until 2018 where he discussed his struggles with suicide due to fan backlash, which led to an outpouring of support from a new wave of fans.

This support was the start of Ahmed Best’s return to the fandom. While he had done a number of voice roles before that point, best became the host for the game show Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge in 2019 as Jedi Master Kelleran Beq. This led to him reprising his role in The Mandalorian as the Jedi to save Grogu from Order 66. While many fans simply saw this as a nice gesture toward such an important actor in the series, Dave Filoni recently teased it may not be the last fans see of Kelleran Beq:

It’s always a possibility,” Filoni teased in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. “We love Ahmed, and he did such a great job. It was a real thrill for us to get him involved.”

Filoni opened up about the process of bringing Ahmed Best on to The Mandalorian as Jedi Master Kelleran Beq. He explained that much of it was a collaborative process with the actor:

“We talked with [Ahmed] about it,” the Ahsoka showrunner continued. “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?'”

The Mandalorian showrunner Jon Favreau also weighed in on the idea of Ahmed Best returning, saying that a lot of people ‘dig the character’ and ‘want to learn more about him’. Support from one showrunner is definitely enough to get many fans speculating about his return. However, two showrunners that are helming a Star Wars film together should make fans perk their ears up.

Despite this, it’s not likely fans will see Ahmed Best return as Kelleran Beq for at least another year or so. Production on The Mandalorian season 4 has recently ground to a halt due to the WGA strike. It’s unclear when studios will come back to the table to reach an agreement with the writers for fair pay. It may be a long, long time until fans get to return to a galaxy far, far away.

The Mandalorian’s Disney Plus future

With its high-quality production, engaging storylines and captivating characters, The Mandalorian has proven to be one of the best Disney Plus series to date.

The Mandalorian features Pedro Pascal, Carl Weathers, Werner Herzog, Omid Abtahi, Taika Waititi, Giancarlo Esposito, Emily Swallow, Temuera Morrison and Katee Sackhoff, among others. The series was created by Jon Favreau and executive produced by Dave Filoni, with episodes directed by Rick Famuyiwa, Bryce Dallas Howard, Peyton Reed, Carl Weathers and Robert Rodriguez.

The first two seasons of The Mandalorian are available to stream on Disney Plus. Stay tuned for the latest news surrounding the Star Wars series and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more content!

Anthony Singletary

Anthony Singletary

Anthony has always had a love for stories. An aspiring screenwriter and video editor, he takes pride in connecting fans with the latest heroic news!