Featured Image Credit: Alamy/Photo 12/Disney
Topics: Star Wars, Film and TV, The Mandalorian, News
Daisy Phillipson
Topics: Star Wars, Film and TV, The Mandalorian, News
Warning: contains spoilers for The Mandalorian season 3, episode 4
Jar Jar Binks actor Ahmed Best has finally returned to the Star Wars universe - although not in the capacity that you might think.
Quite frankly, we're delighted to see the 49-year-old actor return to the franchise, especially now that the fandom is welcoming him with open arms.
In case you didn't know, Best became the victim of misplaced hate in the past.
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You see, he was both the voice and motion-capture actor for Jar Jar Binks, having started with Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace in 1999, when he was just 25 years old.
Unfortunately, Binks, a well-meaning outcast who became a Republic representative, was met with an overwhelming dislike and was slated in the media for being 'annoying' and 'dumbing down' the films.
His case wasn't helped by the fact that the 90s prequels were generally disliked amongst the fandom, with many claiming that they lacked the substance and authenticity that the original trilogy brought to the big screen.
And Jar Jar became a symbol of that, and was even accused of playing to racist Jamaican stereotypes - an accusation that creator George Lucas called 'absurd'.
Whatever the case, Best became a target, despite the fact that he did an incredible job with the character that he himself had not written.
The hate took a significant toll on his mental health, with Best telling Wired back in 2017: "I had death threats through the internet.
"I had people come to me and say, 'You destroyed my childhood.' That's difficult for a 25-year-old to hear."
Being no stranger to the toxic side of the Star Wars fandom, he showed his support to The Last Jedi star Kelly Marie Tran online following the similar vile abuse she experienced from the fans.
But thankfully, all of this wasn't enough to put Best off the franchise as a whole, as he's now returned to the space opera universe in The Mandalorian.
Best appears in the latest episode of season three of the hit Disney+ show as Kelleran Beq, a Jedi Master who supervised Padawans during their training.
The character has earned the nickname 'The Sabered Hand' thanks to his lightsaber skills.
And The Mandalorian fans are delighted to see Best's comeback, with many offering him words of support that are thankfully a stark contrast to the past.
Taking to Twitter, one said, "Seeing Ahmed best back made me cry, I'm so glad he’s back oh my god, welcome back."
"I just cannot believe we got to see Ahmed best as a Jedi," said another. "Absolutely awesome. So happy for him."
And a third added, "I truly hope Ahmed Best feels more welcomed and loved by the Star Wars fandom than ever before.
"He deserves this and so much more!"