Ming-Na Wen's tenure with Star Wars was originally supposed to be brief, but now she's become an incredible part of the mythology, appearing as far back in the timeline as Star Wars: The Bad Batch. Starring as renowned bounty hunter Fennec Shand, Wen made her debut in The Mandalorian season 1 and returned in season 2. Now she's hunting down Clone Force 99 and Omega in The Bad Batch, which is set decades prior to the events of The Mandalorian.
Screen Rant recently spoke with Ming-Na Wen about Fennec Shand, what it means to play this character, and how much she knew about her future in the franchise going into the role.
Fennec Shand is quickly becoming one of the most used characters in the Disney era of Star Wars, appearing in three series. What does that mean to you, to play a character that’s now spanning across the franchise?
I say, keep it coming! I would love to just have Fennec be peppered all over various projects. It’s an honor, it’s a gift. I’m still really drinking in this whole idea that I am in all these Star Wars projects. There’s sort of like a weird out-of-body experience that happens when something that you’ve dreamt about for so long finally comes true and it becomes a reality. There’s a part of you as an adult - there’s a professional side where you go to work and you do the job, and then there’s that little kid in you that’s just going, wow, this is the best dream I’ve ever had. I don’t want to wake up from it.
When Fennec first appeared in The Mandalorian season 1, it seemed like she was a one-off character, but then she came back in season 2 and now she’s in The Bad Batch. How far ahead of time did you know about the bigger plans for the character?
Fennec Shand was just supposed to be a one-off character. That’s what I signed up for. There were no other ideas of her surviving that nasty blaster to the gut treatment that she got. I think it was just maybe a combination of it being written in the stars, the Force was with me, all of it - you know, Dave Filoni was directing “Gunslinger” at the time. We got to know each other - I didn’t know Dave before then - and we connected on so many levels, because both of us are such big Star Wars fans. And then we discovered that we both grew up in the same neighborhood and then we went to the same high school. So I think it was just a combination of all of it, and maybe me being really persistent that she didn’t die.
So you kind of pushed for that?
Yeah, the fans’ reaction when that episode aired was probably her biggest saving grace. So thank you to all the fans.
In The Bad Batch, so far we’ve only seen her very, very briefly. Is there an opportunity to see more of her story, and even to see how she became a bounty hunter as well?
Yeah, I hope so. That’s something you’ll have to ask Mr. Filoni himself.
There’s a big gap between Fennec’s story in The Bad Batch and The Mandalorian, so do you know much about what has happened to Fennec in that time period?
No, no. I mean, considering that she remained a bounty hunter all those years, I think that was probably a profession that she revered and understood. Whether she was trapped in it or whether she loves it that much, those are very good questions. I would love to explore all that.
You mentioned that you’re a big Star Wars fan. What do you want to see happen with your character in this franchise?
Well, selfishly - that she becomes a Jedi! I mean, didn’t we all want to become Jedi when we were younger? How crazy would that be, right? I’ve already pictured that she would have an orange lightsaber, because that’s her color. I don’t know. For me, I leave it in the hands of Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni. They’re such incredible creators of this world. Hats off to them for really bringing Star Wars back to this level of love that I know I had when I was growing up. And now I get to share that with my son and my daughter. It’s just such a gift.
Since this role in The Bad Batch is in animation and you originally played Fennec in live-action, are you portraying the character any differently, even though it’s only through voice this time?
A little bit, yeah. I think it’s the energy level. I remember when I was young, in my 20s, I wanted to conquer the world. I wanted to make my mark, and I think that's the kind of attention that Fennec has. She is out there to prove herself and she’s probably more raw and ruthless, and a little bit sloppy, a little bit… like, when you see her in that episode, she’s very impulsive too. So I’m thinking that the later Fennec is more seasoned, chooses her projects; she’s more selective. She definitely won’t take certain jobs.
So would you continue to take up the opportunity to explore your character in other projects - either in animation or live-action - in the future?
Yeah, 100%. That’s a silly question!
Well, sometimes people choose to say that they’re done with a role because they’ve played it in a few different...
Well, if Mark Hamill isn’t done with the role of Luke Skywalker, I think I’ve got a few years ahead of me! You know I just love the fact that he was so happy and excited about that moment when Luke Skywalker showed up to take Grogu. That was such an iconic moment and I cannot believe that I got to be part of that truly magical, emotional, iconic moment.
Were you aware of that moment beforehand? Because most people weren’t.
I mean, yes, because it was really quite obvious. Peyton Reed did an amazing job directing that sequence, but when I saw the cloak and the glove and the saber, I went to Jon and Dave, and I’m like, “OK, I know who that is.”
You’re obviously continuing the character after The Bad Batch, in live-action, in The Book of Boba Fett. Is there anything you can tell me that fans can expect from your role in that series?
Well, she likes her outfit a lot, because she wears it quite often. She’s kind of like the Einstein of bounty hunters. She has only one outfit everyday that she wears. I can tell you that much!
When I spoke to The Bad Batch producers, they mentioned that your hair was done a little differently. Is there anything else that’s particularly different about Fennec in the animated series?
I don’t think they could do the detail work that goes into this very elaborate hairdo. And one of the reasons why it was so elaborate was because we only thought that she was in one episode, so I wanted to make it extremely memorable. And then when she came back, it was great, but we were stuck with a very elaborate hairdo that takes a really long time to do.