Star Wars fans were given the delightful surprise this week with the all-new episode of The Mandalorian, “The Foundling,” which saw Jar Jar Binks actor Ahmed Best assisting a young Grogu escape from a Jedi temple as his character Kelleran Beq. Best’s character formerly hosted the web series Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge, while this latest adventure solidified his status in the official Star Wars canon, but if it were up to Best, this is only the beginning of the character’s exploits in the galaxy far, far away. New episodes of The Mandalorian debut on Disney+ on Wednesdays.
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“Being in The Mandalorian, part of me doesn’t want to let it go,” Best recalled to StarWars.com. “In The Phantom Menace days, you had to let it go. It was just George [Lucas] doing it. Now, you can do it for a while. You can tell stories in Star Wars and have them be in multiple mediums. As a writer, as a director now, as a teacher now, there is so much more that I want to do that this universe is perfect for, that I don’t want this to be the end of legacy. I don’t want this to be the end of the story. I want this to be the beginning, and a new beginning. Especially through Kelleran Beq.”
Best’s first live-action return to Star Wars came in the Jedi Temple Challenge game show, and while that experience didn’t directly connect to actual Star Wars mythology, Best’s devotion to the role saw him develop a backstory for the character. While there might not currently be any confirmed plans for more of Beq, Best clearly spent even more time developing the figure’s history to have a better grasp of what his future might hold.
“I really care about how Kelleran Beq will be received. I know this might not be cool to say, but I want everyone who watches Star Wars to look at Kelleran Beq and go, ‘I believe that guy. I want to follow that guy. Where does he go? What happens next?’ I think all the best stories are stories that leave you wondering what happens next,” the actor shared. “I think that’s why Star Wars has survived as long as it has, because all of these characters are characters who have lives.”
New episodes of The Mandalorian debut on Disney+ on Wednesdays.
Would you like to see more of Beq in the future? Let us know in the comments or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!
