During Disney’s D23 Expo in August, it was revealed that Mulan star Ming-Na Wen had joined the Star Wars series The Mandalorian. Now, thanks to Vanity Fair, we get our first look and details on who Wen is playing.
According to the site, Wen will appear as the assassin Fennec Shand, who crosses paths with Pedro Pascal’s masked bounty hunter midway through the first season of the Disney+ series.
While speaking with Vanity Fair, Ming-Na Wen shared where the character’s name comes from.
“We got our inspiration really from the name. The idea of a fennec fox came to mind, she’s tricky, and yet she’s able to maneuver and survive and be stealthy—so very graceful and agile. I just love that whole image with the name.”
You can see Ming-Na Wen as Fennec Shand in this brand new 30-second teaser video below:
She also compared her character to Han Solo, in that Shand has no core belief system but her own survival.
“She is definitely someone who’s loyal to herself, will evolve, it will change. I mean, I think that’s what’s so wonderful about creating a new character. I think she has a good sense of humor about it all as well, which is also fun. You can’t really pinpoint which direction she’s going to go.”
Pedro Pascal plays the titular character, Hollywood legend Nick Nolte, MMA star-turned-actress Gina Carano, Breaking Bad‘s Giancarlo Esposito, iconic German director, and actor Werner Herzog, Supernatural‘s Emily Swallow, andThor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi (who also directed an episode) are also in the set to star in the series.
Read: Complete List of Disney+ Launch Titles Revealed
Dave Filoni, who has worked on Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, will direct the first episode of the series. Bryce Dallas Howard, Dope’s Rick Famuyiwa, and Deborah Chow (Jessica Jones) will direct additional episodes. Favreau is also executive producing the show, along with Filoni, Kathleen Kennedy, and Colin Wilson. Karen Gilchrist will serve as a co-executive producer.
Check out the official synopsis for The Mandalorian below:
“After the stories of Jango and Boba Fett, another warrior emerges in the Star Wars universe. The Mandalorian is set after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the First Order. We follow the travails of a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy far from the authority of the New Republic.”
The Mandalorian will debut when Disney+ launches on November 12, 2019.
Source: Vanity Fair
