How many times has Ming-Na Wen played Fennec Shand in Star Wars?
By Meg Dowell
Ming-Na Wen‘s lifelong dream of being in Star Wars came true when she debuted in a galaxy far, far away as Fennec Shand.
Only a few years later, Wen has already appeared in three separate Star Wars TV shows, all as the same character. Here’s where you’ll find her.
Fennec Shand joins The Mandalorian
Ming-Na Wen first appeared as Fennec Shand in The Mandalorian Season 1, Episode 5 “Chapter 5: The Gunslinger.” She was hired to assassinate Din Djarin, who was on the run from Imperial remnants with Grogu (aka Baby Yoda). Din left her mortally wounded, but a mysterious figure — who viewers later learned was none other than Boba Fett — rescued her.
Fennec Shand would go on to appear in three additional episodes of the series — the final three chapters of Season 2, to be exact. Whether or not we’ll see her character in The Mandalorian again is still up in the air.
Fennec in Star Wars: The Bad Batch
Trailers for Star Wars: The Bad Batch revealed we’d be seeing an animated version of Fennec Shand before the show began — and it would be a few episodes in before we heard Ming-Na Wen’s voice bring life to a much younger version of the character.
Not yet a master assessing and very much an aspiring master bounty hunter, Fennec Shand was hired by Nalla Se presumably to capture Omega and bring her back to Kamino. But once Nalla Se realized Omega was safe with Clone Force 99. she considered Shand’s job complete.
Her time on Bad Batch so far concluded with a showdown between her and Cad Bane. It’s unclear whether or not we’ll see her again in this particular animated series. But even after Season 1 of that show ended, Star Wars fans at least knew it wouldn’t be long before they saw the character again.
Ming-Na Wen shines in The Book of Boba Fett
Wen’s third and final collection of appearances involved her main role in Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett. A post-credits scene at the end of Mandalorian Season 2 showed Fennec and Boba taking out Bib Fortuna and claiming the throne for themselves, which served as the initial announcement for the show.
Though Fennec still played a small role in the overall story, Ming-Na Wen, when given the screen time she deserved, stole every scene she could. Her stunts continue to shine with every movement, and in Star Wars, that’s a big deal.
Will she appear again — perhaps in another installment of The Book of Boba Fett? We’ll just have to wait and see.
Season 1 of The Book of Boba Fett is streaming now exclusively on Disney+.