Jar-Jar Binks actor sets tongues wagging with Activision tease
UPDATE: Internet believes it has uncovered Best's project.
UPDATE 29/2/24: This week's social media post by Jar-Jar Binks actor Ahmed Best in which he tagged himself with #Activision is - sadly - not a tease that the star will soon be popping up in Call of Duty.
Internet sleuths have now scoured Best's social media posts for more clues - and discovered he is currently shooting motion capture scenes with someone named Anamaria Musca - who is a producer on the upcoming South of Midnight, from We Happy Few developer Compulsion Games (thanks, AltChar). In November last year, Best also tagged another photo of himself on a mo-cap stage with #compulsiongames, seemingly confirming his work on the project.
So, why Activision? As Eurogamer reader SoVeryTired pointed out in the comments of this very article, Activision has a Los Angeles-based mo-cap studio it regularly leases out to other projects - and it seems Best and Musca are there working on South of Midnight right now.
ORIGINAL STORY 28/2/24: Ahmed Best, who's best known for his performance as Jar-Jar Binks in the Star Wars prequels, has issued a cryptic tease that has set Star Wars fans' tongues wagging.
"Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in," Best posted on Instagram, alongside a photo of himself clad in a performance capture suit. He accompanied the caption with a string of hashtags: "#mocap #starwars #jarjarbinks #activision #jedi #sithlord #kelleranbeq"
It's unclear what Best is back in a performance capture suit for, though the mention of Activision has fans pondering whether the actor is secretly working on a new Star Wars game from the publisher, or whether he's performing mo-cap for some kind of Call of Duty crossover.
To date, Star Wars has regularly featured in Fortnite, via the strong bond between Disney and Epic Games. So it'd be a surprise to see the series suddenly feature in Call of Duty - and even more of a surprise to see Jar-Jar Binks of all characters being featured.
Of course, Best is more recently the actor behind another Star Wars character: Kelleran Beq, a heroic Jedi who features in The Mandalorian. (There is a Mandalorian movie in the works, though isn't due to begin shooting for another few months.)
There is, however, a rumoured Mandalorian game on the way from Apex Legends studio Respawn. Maybe Best got his publisher wires crossed and meant to tag EA?
An all-new Star Wars game project featuring Best being developed by Activision would also be a surprise - there's been no word so far of a game set in the galaxy far, far away from the Call of Duty publisher - which now, of course, is owned by Microsoft.
We've asked Activision for comment. As of now, Best's Instagram post remains online.