Fennec Shand, an elite mercenary introduced in The Mandalorian, makes her animated debut in Star Wars: The Bad Batch, which may indicate how old she is compared to Boba Fett. Portrayed with a flawless mixture of wit and menace by Ming-Na Wen, Fennec Shand was one of Din Djarin’s most formidable enemies before becoming an ally and helping him rescue Grogu at the end of The Mandalorian’s second season. Now partnered with the legendary bounty hunter Boba Fett, Shand’s next live-action appearance will be The Book of Boba Fett, where she and Fett will lead the remnants of Jabba the Hutt’s criminal syndicate. In The Bad Batch season 1, episode 3, “Cornered,” Shand is hired by an unknown client to capture the young Jango Fett clone Omega. Though she fails, Shand will likely continue her pursuit, and her appearance gives some indication of her age.
Boba Fett, a fan-favorite character from the original Star Wars trilogy, was one of the first of Jango Fett’s clones, and he was born on Kamino in 32 BBY. Unlike the rest of the Clone Army, Boba was completely unaltered, so he didn’t undergo growth acceleration treatments. During the timeframe of The Bad Batch’s first season, Boba Fett is 13 years old. When Boba reappears in The Mandalorian, the year is 9 ABY, making Boba 41 years old. Despite his experience in the gullet of a Sarlacc, Boba is as formidable as ever, making quick work of Imperial remnant forces to assist Din Djarin. Boba’s actor, Temuera Morrison, is notably two decades older than Fett.
As a relatively new character, Fennec Shand’s birth year is unknown, but a possible age can be extrapolated, based on her actress. Ming-Na Wen was 57 when her Mandalorian season 2 appearances aired, making this the likely age of Shand in those episodes. Since The Mandalorian seasons 1 and 2 take place in 9 ABY, this would make Fennec Shand's likely birth year 48 BBY, making her 16 years older than her eventual partner Boba Fett. With The Bad Batch season 1 taking place in 19 BBY, this would make Shand 29 years old in her animated debut. Fennec and Boba are two of many examples of bounty hunters being unimpeded by their age.
As with many occupations in Star Wars or reality, the best mercenaries are often skilled enough to remain active and highly effective well into their middle age and older. Other famous bounty hunters – who made their debut in The Empire Strikes Back alongside Fett – Bossk and Dengar were both active during the Clone Wars and the Galactic Civil War. The Kyuzo enforcer Embo was too and continued to work during the New Republic era. Dengar potentially took this a step further through life-extending cybernetics and is popularly speculated to be the true identity of the Corellian cyborg Rothgar Deng. Fennec Shand and Boba Fett are no exception, with the two veteran mercenaries becoming powerful crime lords at the end of The Mandalorian season 2.
While much of Fennec Shand’s mercenary career has yet to be revealed, her reputation intimidated the highly skilled Din Djarin, and the legendary Boba Fett went through the effort of resuscitating her so they could be partners. So far, The Bad Batch is Shand’s chronological first appearance, and considering how well she fares against the clone super-soldiers, it can be assumed that she’s not an amateur in the immediate aftermath of the Clone Wars. Fennec Shand is 16 years older than Boba Fett, but age is largely irrelevant to the two mercenaries, as shown in Star Wars: The Bad Batch and The Mandalorian.
