The Mandalorian season 3 episode 4 contains a major cameo from Star Wars royalty

The Mandalorian
(Image credit: Lucasfilm)

The Mandalorian season 3 episode 4 has finally cleared up a big mystery about Grogu – and it did so with a major cameo from Star Wars royalty. A warning that we'll be digging into major spoilers for the new episode ahead, so turn back now if you're not up to date! 

In the episode, while watching the Armorer at her forge, Grogu has a flashback to Order 66, the infamous Jedi purge seen in Revenge of the Sith. As the Jedi Temple is attacked, the Jedi there try to save Grogu, rushing him off to someone called Kelleran Beq. 

That mysterious Jedi turns out to be played by none other than Ahmed Best, AKA the actor behind Jar Jar Binks in the Star Wars prequels. He's played Kelleran in live-action before on the game show Jedi Temple Challenge. 

As we see, Kelleran whisks Grogu to safety after a touch-and-go chase through Coruscant, which even crashes around the peak of Umate, seen in the previous episode. 

Ahmed Best in The Mandalorian

(Image credit: Disney/Lucasfilm)

The flashback ends there, so we don't find out where Kelleran and Grogu went next. Kelleran is nowhere to be seen in the present day timeline, which opens up a new Star Wars mystery – did he survive rescuing Grogu? We probably won't find out for some time, but eagle-eyed viewers might have noticed a clue as to where the duo could be going next: the ship they use to escape Coruscant is a Naboo-style craft. 

Best has been open before about how the backlash to Jar Jar caused him very real pain, which makes his triumphant return in the new Mando episode all the more heart-warming. 

You can keep up to date with the show on Disney Plus with our The Mandalorian release schedule, and also check out our roundup of all the upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows for everything else coming soon from the galaxy far, far away. 

Molly Edwards
Senior Entertainment Writer

I'm a Senior Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.