Some fans have wondered if we might ever see Jar Jar Binks on The Mandalorian. Well, we did … in a sense.
This week’s episode of The Mandalarorian, “Chapter 20: The Foundling,” features an extended flashback to Grogu’s childhood. (Well, uh, his earlier childhood anyway.) It reveals how he managed to survive “Order 66,” when Emperor Palpatine sent his Clone Army to destroy the Jedi, including the young Padawans being trained in the Jedi Temple. In this sequence we see that one Jedi in particular risked his life to get Grogu out of the Temple and off Coruscant.
This Jedi is named Kelleran Beq. Jar Jar Binks was a CGI creation, so he might not look familiar but Beq is played by actor Ahmed Best, who was the voice and on-set actor for Jar Jar in the Star Wars prequels.
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Jar Jar was a polarizing figure in Star Wars (and not without reason), and Best distanced himself from Star Wars and its fandom for a long time. But just recently he appeared as the host of the kids game show Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge. Interestingly, on the show Best played … Jedi Master Kelleran Beq. So he’s technically playing the same guy on both series.
Best did a fine job in this episode; he’s as graceful and imposing as a Jedi as he was awkward and wacky as Jar Jar. And since Grogu’s origin has just begun to be explored, there’s a good chance he might pop up in future Mandalorian episodes down the line.
New episodes of The Mandalorian premiere on Wednesdays on Disney+. There are four episodes left in this third season.
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