Ming-Na Wen admits she didn't realize she was filming The Book of Boba Fett during the first weeks of production. Wen is best known for voicing Mulan and playing Melinda May on Agents of SHIELD, but recent years have seen her carving a special place in the Star Wars universe. As sharpshooter Fennec Shand, Wen appeared to have a one-and-done appearance on The Mandalorian in season 1, which ended in her untimely death. However, much to the surprise of both fans and Wen herself, Fennec was revived and returned in season 2 for a larger role.
When she resurfaced, Fennec had aligned herself with bounty hunter Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison), thus paving the way for her to have a role in The Book of Boba Fett. The Disney+ series was something of a surprise, with the announcement arriving after a slew of Star Wars shows were confirmed to be in the works. The Book of Boba Fett will premiere later this year and pick up with Fett and Fennec after they've taken control of Jabba the Hutt's old stronghold on Tatooine.
Lucasfilm is notoriously careful when it comes to spoilers, and that even stretches to the talent they're working with. As Wen revealed recently when talking to Digital Spy, she didn't even know she was signed onto The Book of Boba Fett during the early days of shooting. "I just automatically assumed it was for The Mandalorian season three," Wen explained. This went on for two weeks, but the actress eventually learned the truth. She said:
We're so secretive about everything, right? We don't call the shows, the shows. The contracts are always under different names. The show is under different names.
When I was told I was going to become a series regular, I just automatically assumed it was for The Mandalorian season three. And then when the scripts came out, it said 301, 302, 303, 304. So I just assumed I was signing on – because it doesn't say The Mandalorian on my contracts.
So for two weeks, while I was working with Tem [Temuera Morrison] and Robert [Rodriguez], I had no idea that I was actually shooting the spinoff [laughs].
When the crew and the cast found out, they were dying. It was so crazy. So, yeah, it was wonderful to finally discover that I was shooting The Book of Boba Fett [laughs]. They call it The Mandalorian 2.5, in a way. So I wasn't all wrong [laughs].
These types of incidents have become common in recent years for actors working in major franchises like Star Wars and Marvel. However, it's truly impressive that Wen was actually working on one show while thinking she was doing another. Perhaps aiding her confusion was the rumored inclusion of various Mandalorian characters. Nothing has been confirmed, but reports have suggested familiar faces from the series will pop up on The Book of Boba Fett. Perhaps Wen saw some of these actors and believed it was all for The Mandalorian.
Either way, Wen was careful to only mention Morrison and director Robert Rodriguez. With The Book of Boba Fett still months away and Disney+ still focused more on its Marvel shows, it might be some time before more details about the show emerge. As the second live-action Star Wars show to debut on Disney+, The Book of Boba Fett will likely be under a lot of scrutiny. Hopefully it will live up to expectations. For her part, Wen has shared her enthusiasm for getting to play Fennec Shand again after The Mandalorian and animated series The Bad Batch, so she is bound to have quite the role. Good thing she eventually figured out what show she's on.
Source: Digital Spy
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June 30, 2021 at 12:19AM
