‘Star Wars’ fans get emotional as a prequel trilogy actor returns in style in ‘The Mandalorian’

This article contains spoilers for The Mandalorian Season 3, Episode 4.

This week’s episode of The Mandalorian sees Din Djarin, Bo-Katan, and Paz Vizsla rocketing off to save Paz’s kid from a dragon’s nest. Grogu is still a bit small for this particular adventure so sat it out with the Armorer, though the clanging of her Forge brought back some traumatic memories.

This was the cue for yet another depiction of Revenge of the Sith‘s Order 66, with various Jedi Knights struggling to get Grogu out of the temple. His savior was Kelleran Beq, a powerful Jedi Knight who led the Clone Troopers on a dizzying chase through Coruscant before zipping into hyperspace aboard a chrome Naboo ship.

Fans would be celebrating this awesome sequence anyway, but there’s also a big emotional reaction as Kelleran Beq is played by none other than Jar Jar Binks himself, Ahmed Best. Beq made his Star Wars debut in 2020 in the firmly non-canon YouTube game show Jedi Temple Challenge, in which he put young contestants through a Jedi training obstacle course. Now Beq has officially entered the saga and fans are over the moon:

This is quite the redemption arc after the hatred Best received in the wake of The Phantom Menace:

Best really lives up to his name here:

Ahmed Best, you kneel to no one:

Here’s hoping this isn’t the last we see of him:

Best had some dark years due to fan hatred of Jar Jar, so this response is heartwarming:

Could we see Kelleran Beq meet up with Jar Jar Binks for some Best on Best action?

We’re hoping we haven’t seen the last of Best in this season of The Mandalorian. There are still many missing years in Grogu’s life, though it seems that during at least some of them, he was being protected by Beq. Let’s hope we get some more of those blanks filled in soon.

The Mandalorian airs Wednesdays on Disney Plus.