The Mandalorian: Why Ahmed Best’s Jedi Was Chosen for Baby Yoda’s Early Companion

Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Season 3 of The Mandalorian.

The Mandalorian showrunners Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni have explained why Ahmed Best’s Kelleran Beq was the right choice to step up as Baby Yoda’s early companion.

Disney Gallery: The Making of The Mandalorian Season 3 just landed on Disney+, giving viewers an inside look at how the talent behind the Star Wars spinoff series crafted its ambitious third season. Notably, Favreau and Filoni talked about Best’s celebrated return to Star Wars.

Best is well-known for playing Jar Jar Binks in all three Star Wars Prequels, but he has pivoted to a very different Prequel-era role in recent years — serving as the host of the short-lived web series Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge, playing the part of Jedi Master Kelleran Beq.

“We needed Grogu to have a type of savior companion that preceded Mando and that it would be a Jedi. And then it becomes important to say, ‘Well, who is that?’ ‘Cause that’ll be a big deal’ “

Favreau and Filoni decided the highly-skilled Jedi Master deserved more screen time and inducted him into Star Wars canon with a cameo in Episode 4 of The Mandalorian’s third season. In the Disney+ docuseries, Filoni said he always knew Best’s role would be an important one.

“We needed Grogu to have a type of savior companion that preceded Mando and that it would be a Jedi. And then it becomes important to say, ‘Well, who is that? Cause that’ll be a big deal,’ ” Filoni explained. “And for me, it’s always nice when it’s somebody ‘in the family’ here at Lucasfilm. Someone that’s been out there representing Star Wars, interacting with the fans, carrying the banner. And Ahmed Best has been such an important part of our Star Wars history.”

Favreau added to that by explaining why they felt Best and his new Star Wars character was the perfect choice to save Grogu. He emphasized Best’s experience in the martial arts, with his character going by the nickname “The Sabered Hand” because of his skill with a lightsaber.

“He grew up as part of it. Through all different eras of it,” Favreau said, reflecting on Best’s Star Wars journey. “And he also has martial arts training. He introduced the character of Kelleran Beq, a Jedi, into Star Wars. And we thought that this could present a really cool opportunity to incorporate him into The Mandalorian.”

Beq played a critical role during the events of Order 66. He survived the initial attack on the Jedi Temple, helping escort Grogu to safety and escape aboard a Naboo ship. Favreau explained they wanted to share more of the Order 66 subplot to offer insight into Grogu’s backstory.

“We knew we had to tell more stories ’cause we’ve told flashbacks about what happened to Grogu. And how Grogu escaped the Jedi Temple,” he said. “We’ve shown little glimpses and clips of his memory, most recently in The Book of Boba Fett. And so, we wanted to continue to tell that story in small chapters. So we had to figure out, ‘Ok, what’s the next chapter? What’s the likely thing that would’ve happened?’ “

Whether or not we will see more of those chapters unfold in Season 4 of The Mandalorian remains to be seen but we do know Katee Sackhoff’s Bo-Katan Kryze is likely to have a more central role in the Disney+ series as she moves forward as the new leader of Mandalore.

Executive producer Rick Famuyiwa confirmed to IGN in April that Din Djarin is no longer considered the sole titular Mandalorian within Disney, and Favreau recently defended that decision by explaining Pedro Pascal’s character was never destined to be Star Wars’ “Aragorn”.

Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.