The first Star Wars game show, Jedi Temple Challenge, was originally scheduled to debut today. However, due to the ongoing protests against police brutality supporting the Black Lives Matter movement, the show’s host and producer, Ahmed Best, revealed the release has been delayed slightly.
“As a black man, a black father, a black producer and black artist I have to consider all that is happening in the world right now,” Best wrote on his Instagram. “Our team has decided to push the premiere of Jedi Temple Challenge until next Wednesday, June 10th. Hopefully, we can be in a better headspace next week to enjoy this game show. I’ve been a part of this family for twenty years and I’ve felt your support.”
On the show, which is kind of like the Star Wars spin on Guts, Double Dare, or Legend of the Hidden Temple, Best plays Kelleran Beq, a Jedi Knight Best described as “the first Black number one lead of anything Star Wars.” That’s in our world. In the Star Wars world, Best confirmed that Beq is related to Achk Med-Beq, the character he played briefly in Attack of the Clones. That was the first time we saw Best, the actor, on-screen. Of course, he also played Jar Jar Binks across the prequel trilogy, a character that inspired backlash that almost led the actor to die by suicide.
Though the show is delayed, Best explained that “the excitement behind Kelleran Beq has me bursting with ideas of lore and backstory.” In fact, on Twitter, he has already begun to speculate where Jedi Temple Challenge fits in the Star Wars canon, albeit a little jokingly. “Here is my completely unauthorised non-canon fierce fan explanation,” Best tweeted. “I like to think the Temple exists in #forcespace a place beyond galaxy chronology. Like the hyperbolic time chamber in #dragonballz.”