Star Wars: Ming-Na Wen’s character in The Mandalorian has been revealed
Agents of SHIELD veteran Ming-Na Wen turns to villainy in The Mandalorian as assassin Fennec Shand.
Ming-Na Wen will play an assassin named Fennec Shand in the upcoming Disney Plus TV series The Mandalorian, which releases on Tuesday, November 12.
This news was officially announced by Vanity Fair.
Wen will be playing a recurring character in the first season who crosses paths with Pedro Pascal’s (Wonder Woman: 1984) eponymous character.
Inspiration for the original character came from the name of a species of fox, one of the most mysterious of the canine family. (For more on all things canine, see our sister site Dog O’Day.)
“She’s tricky, and yet she’s able to maneuver and survive, and be stealthy—so very graceful and agile,” Wen told Vanity Fair. “I just love that whole image with the name.”
Shand’s loyalties are most importantly directed to her own survival, much like Han Solo (Harrison Ford) when viewers met him in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, though where they eventually lead is anyone’s guess at the moment.
A lifelong Star Wars fan, Wen is thrilled to be a part of the franchise after growing up identifying with Luke Skywalker’s hopes for adventure beyond Tatooine’s twin horizons.
More from TV
- Monarch: Legacy of Monsters episodes 1 and 2 review: Aftermath
- The 9 best (and 8 worst) Arrowverse characters
- 10 things nobody wants to admit about The Walking Dead
- Harley Quinn renewed for a fifth season on Max (and it’s well-deserved)
- The Walking Dead: Every TWD spinoff show coming in 2024 and beyond
Wen is probably best known for playing Dr. Jing-Mei Chen on NBC drama ER or SHIELD agent Melinda May on ABC’s MCU-set Agents of SHIELD. She’s also had notable roles in other Disney projects, as she voiced the titular character in the 1998 animated classic, Mulan and has had recurring voice roles on Phineas and Ferb, Sofia the First and Milo Murphy’s Law.
While the character is similar to May or her Street Fighter character of Chun-Li in that her body is a weapon, Wen wanted the look to be distinctly different, resulting in a tactical braided hairstyle inspired by foxes, complete with a big blaster.
Based on the name, it seems very possible that she could be related to Crokind Shand, who was a gang member of the Kanjiklub, according to Wookieepedia, who died in Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens during the battle on the Millenium Falcon that ended with most combatants eaten by rathtars. It’s possible that Fennec Shand and Crokind are siblings.
Disney Plus: All the canine content available at launch
Disney Plus will release on Tuesday, November 12, 2019, bringing together Star Wars, Marvel, and National Geographic content all together under one streaming service alongside Disney classics and obscure titles that honestly sound like they were made up for a board game.
This will include a respectable amount of canine content right off the bat, as well.
More at Dog O' Day
Next. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker – Ways to win back haters. dark
Other known characters involved in the first live-action Star Wars TV series are the rich Greef Carga (Rocky’s Carl Weathers), a former Rebel solider named Cara Dune (former MMA fighter Gina Carano), an Ugnaught called Kuiil (Nick Nolte), and a droid bounty hunter designated IG-11 (Taika Watiti).
For more Star Wars coverage within the FanSided Network, be sure to check out Dork Side of the Force and Culturess for secondary coverage.