Full Look At Fennec Shand Animated For 'The Bad Batch'
It is a really good time to be a Star Wars fan. Not only did The Bad Batch drop on Star Wars Day, May 4th, but it was also a fantastic return to animation for the Star Wars universe. There have also been several leaked photos and information about the future Star Wars series such as Andor and Obi-Wan Kenobi, which are shooting concurrently at the moment. Both are slated to hit Disney+ sometime next year. That is going on along with the countless other Star Wars projects on the way like The Book of Boba Fett and Ahsoka. Fans got another treat when the trailer for The Bad Batch teased the return of Fennec Shand, with Ming-Na Wen reprising the role.
Fans have known that Shand would be making an appearance in The Bad Batch for some time now, but to finally see her in the show is an absolute delight. However, the trailer zooms past her character fairly quickly, which didn't allow many fans to get a good look at her in the show. That was until a full-body image of her was leaked on Reddit. The leak from r/StarWarsLeaks shows the character wearing garb similar to what we saw in The Mandalorian.
The dark black and orange complement each other well, especially with her helmet. In the trailer, fans were only able to see her with the helmet on. Her eyes are shown slightly through the slit in her helmet, but the leak gives us a full look at her face. She is holding her helmet by her side revealing the animated version of Ming-Na Wen, and it recreates her as faithfully as possible in The Clone Wars art style. While the leak shows a lot of the design of the character, it does not reveal what role Fennec will play in the show. It is unknown whether she will be a hero, villain, or just a simple bounty hunter making her way in the universe.
Fennec Shand first appeared in "Chapter 5" of The Mandalorian, but this is the first time we have seen her character outside that show. This is also the first time we have seen an animated version of her. However, she is not the first Star Wars character to appear in both live-action and animation. Obviously, we have seen characters like Anakin and Obi-Wan appear in both forms of media, but now we are seeing more and more characters make appearances in animation and live-action. Most recently, we have seen Bo-Katan Kryze and Ashoka Tano start in animated series and then move into live-action. Bo-Katan was played by Katee Sackhoff in both the live-action and the animated versions. Ming-Na Wen seems to be following in those footsteps in reverse.
Ming-Na Wen is also a legend in the realm of sci-fi, animation, and, honestly, nerdom. She appeared in all seven seasons of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and gave Mulan her voice in the classic animated Disney film. She was also Chun-Li in the Street Fighter movie and played the lead role in the first Final Fantasy movie! It is fantastic to see her finally make her way into Star Wars as such an amazing character.
It is great to see these characters crossing over in so many forms of media. The crossovers make Star Wars feel closer to that interconnected universe fans have always wanted to see in that franchise. Whether it be in animation, live-action series, or films on the big screen, seeing familiar characters appear across all media adds a personal touch to the franchise. Even though it is unclear what role Fennec Shand will have in the show, it is still great to know that she will be there either helping or harming the crew and nailing every shot along the way.
Source(s): The Direct