This story contains mild spoilers for the new episode of The MandalorianA special Easter egg was found in the latest episode of The Mandalorian with one actor from the prequel trilogy taking on a new role. Actor Ahmed Best is someone well known to Star Wars fans for portraying the controversial Star Wars prequel trilogy character Jar Jar Binks, a character who has since only reappeared in animation and video games. The appearance from Best comes as a surprise, as he hadn't been announced to be involved in the show prior to the episode's arrival on Disney+.
Best doesn't play Jar Jar in The Mandalorian, instead taking on an entirely new character, so some fans watching may not have connected that this was the same actor. In any case, the show's fourth episode of season 3, "The Foundling," features Best in a flashback scene where the clone troopers betrayed the Jedi. Best briefly appears as the Jedi knight Kelleran, and it's a key role as he's the one who manages to rescue Grogu from certain doom. The scene ends with Kelleran and Grogu escaping, but it's not yet clear if Best will be featured in more flashback scenes in the role in future episodes.
Per Variety, Best has in fact played the Kelleran character before, but in a rather obscure way. He debuted as the Jedi knight in 2020 on the web series Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge, a children's game show following young contestants competing to be declared Jedi knights.
Will Ahmed Best Return as Jar Jar Binks?
Given his tumultuous history, it's not clear if Jar Jar will make his way back into any more live-action projects. The Jar Jar Binks character was not very well received when Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace and its sequels were released, putting it lightly. At the time, the character endured very heavy criticism from people in the Star Wars fan base, easily making poor Jar Jar one of the most reviled characters in the franchise. But the hatred seems to have lessened in recent years, and a return of the character in a new series or movie isn't impossible. Best said back in 2020 he'd be up for returning as Jar Jar, despite the heavy backlash that had been leveled at the actor in prior years.
"I would return as Jar Jar Binks but it really depends on the story," Best wrote on Twitter at the time, though the tweet (and his account) have since been taken down.
You can stream The Mandalorian on Disney+.