Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge Show Delays Premiere (original) (raw)
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With the current protests in mind, Ahmed Best, producer and host of Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge, announces the show's premiere will be delayed a week. On May 25, 2020, an unarmed black man named George Floyd died when a white police officer pinned him to the ground for nine minutes. In response to his death and many other similar incidents, protests have erupted around the world calling for change.
Best, who will play Jedi Master Kelleran Beq, posted on his Instagram about the delay. Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge's first two episodes were supposed to air on June 3rd on StarWarsKids.com and the Star Wars Kids channel on YouTube, but have now been pushed to Wednesday, June 10th. The show will test its young contestants as they train to become a Jedi Knight.
Given the widespread protests, Best and the rest of the team behind Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge have decided the delay is best to ensure that fans can be in the right state of mind to enjoy the children's game show. Best states that "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," and references the Black Lives Matter movement.Many other people within the Star Wars universe have voiced their support for the protests, including John Boyega and J.J. Abrams.
Best voiced Jar Jar Binks in the prequel trilogy, as well as characters in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Intense hostility from fans in response to Jar Jar drove Best to depression, but after speaking out, he's received overwhelming support from the Star Wars community.
More: Why Clone Wars Isn’t Divisive (But The Star Wars Prequels Are)
Source: Ahmed Best/Instagram