The Book of Boba Fett may be over (for now). But actor Ming-Na Wen is just getting started.
Speaking with D23, she shed light on the struggles women in Hollywood face as they get older and how fortunate she feels to stand strong among her peers. “it used to be that when a woman reached 40, they’d get put out to pasture,” she explained. “I’m far beyond that now, and it’s great that I can still continue to do this.”
Star Wars has been a major champion for women “of a more experienced age” in the past few years. The Season 2 finale of The Mandalorian featured a scene in which Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen), Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff), and Cara Dune (Gina Carano), all above the age of 35, led an entire action scene together and nearly and rightfully stole the entire show (though against Baby Yoda, how could they have even stood a chance?).
Wen first appeared as Fennec Shand in Season 1 of The Mandalorian and went on to reprise her role lending her voice to the same character in animated form in Star Wars: The Bad Batch. She returned later in The Mandalorian and most recently portrayed Fennec in The Book of Boba Fett.
Star Wars was not her first claim to fame, however. Disney Legend Ming-Na Wen is the original voice of Mulan and also starred in Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as Agent Melinda May. Her CV is glowing, and she wants to keep adding to it for as long as possible.
“I feel very privileged and honored, and I’m living out my dream of being in a Star Wars project,” she said. “I’m going to kick butt for as long as I can!”
Will we see Ming-Na Wen as Fennec Shand in Star Wars again? If the actor has anything to say about it, it will be sooner than you think.
Season 1 of The Book of Boba Fett is streaming now exclusively on Disney+.