Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge Host Has Surprising Connection to Kylo Ren

The new game show Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge might not be a canonical entry into Star Wars lore, given that it features contestants from the real world participating, but a number of components do fit into the official lore of the franchise, with host Ahmed Best recently confirming that his character's name, "Kelleran Beq," is meant to be a precursor for the name "Kylo Ren." While this reveal might not confirm similar nefarious motivations of both characters, it does add some interesting context for how Ben Solo, as well as the Knights of Ren, could have learned something about Kelleran that led to them potentially embracing his name.

"In my idea of Kelleran Beq, the reason why he has a purple lightsaber and the purple kyber crystal is because, in my mind, purple lightsaber wielders have an intimate relationship with both the Light Side and the Dark Side," Best revealed to Coffee With Kenobi. "It takes a special Jedi to be able to balance those two."

He added, "'Kelleran' is a name that I came up with because I like this idea of names being derivatives. 'Wilhelm' automatically turns into 'William' after generations and generations and accents change and regions change and I wanted to find a way to tie the sequels and the prequels together in Kelleran Beq. And I played a character, because of Anthony Daniels, in [Star Wars:] Attack of the Clones named 'Achk Med-Beq,' which was so duly named, and 'Kelleran,' to me, sounds like the origins of the name 'Kylo Ren,' so I wanted to have Kelleran be the root name to Kylo Ren and as you go down generations, you get to Kylo Ren."

Fans have been learning bits and pieces about Kelleran's backstory throughout Jedi Temple Challenge, though he's yet to make a major appearance in other corners of Star Wars lore. Given this concept of names being derivatives of one another, we won't be surprised if Beq, or possibly another Kelleran, makes an appearance in an adventure at some point in the future.

What makes these details so exciting to hear is that Best hasn't always had such a passionate connection to the franchise, having previously admitted that the backlash to Binks was so passionate following the prequels that he had considered taking his own life, resulting in a major show of support from fans about how much Binks meant to them. Since then, Best has made convention appearances and returned to the franchise as the Jedi Master Beq.

Would you like to see Beq be featured in a canonical adventure? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!