‘Star Wars’ actor returns to the franchise in new role

‘Star Wars’ fans were treated to a surprise when actor Ahmed Best, who played the much criticized Jar Jar Binks, made an appearance in the most recent episode of ‘The Mandalorian.’

The 49-year-old actor played a Jedi named Kelleran Beq in the newest episode titled ‘The Foundling’.

Best appears in a flashback to Order 66, when the clone troopers betrayed the Jedi and ruthlessly murdered nearly everyone. Best’s Jedi knight Kelleran saves a young Grogu, who found himself alone facing a group of clone troopers.

Kelleran saves the alien and dispatches the enemies with his two lightsabers, allowing Grogu to escape with him on a ship.

Although it was a surprise cameo, the door isn’t closed when it comes to Best possibly coming back since the episode ends without showing where Kelleran and Grogu fly off to.

This isn’t Best’s first ‘Star Wars’ cameo

It isn’t the first time Best has taken on the role of Beq. The actor first played the character when he hosted a 2020 online children’s game show titled ‘Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge’.

The show followed youngling teams as they try to navigate obstacle courses, test their knowledge in a quiz, and be tempted by the dark side.

Best also had a brief cameo in ‘Attack of the Clones’ as Achk Med-Beq, a startled patron of the Outlander Club on Coruscant.

Playing Jar Jar Binks took a toll on Best’s life

When Jar Jar first appeared in ‘A Phantom Menace’ back in 1999, the character was heavily criticized due to his strange accent and silly personality.

Almost 20 years after playing the controversial character, Best opened up about how the hate comments nearly drove him to suicide.

“It hit me. It came right for me. I was called every racial stereotype you can imagine,” Best said in a 2019 interview with Participant. “There was this criticism of being this Jamaican, broken dialect, which was offensive because I’m of West Indian descent — I’m not Jamaican. It was debilitating. I didn’t know how to respond,”

“The depression hit me. Hard. I was just broken. The only thing I could think of to make me feel better was to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. But this time when I walked across the bridge, I didn’t see the lights of Manhattan. I didn’t see the towers [or] the potential of hard work and ingenuity. I didn’t see anything; I just saw a fog.

“I felt tired of having to explain myself. I felt tired of having to defend myself and defend my work. I felt tired of having to fight back against racism and the racial stereotypes. I just wanted to play a part. I was exhausted.”