Star Wars' Ming-Na Wen Tends To Get A 'Little Loopy' While Wearing Fennec Shand's Suit
Thanks to various television shows and a new trilogy of films with various spin-offs, the galaxy far, far away has become more fleshed out than ever before. Even when certain stories aren't necessarily well-received, like the prequel trilogy, other stories can help expand upon the more intriguing ideas to create something fans really latch onto. That was the basic premise behind "The Clone Wars" TV show, which introduced a myriad of characters, like Ahsoka Tano, who have gone on to become fan favorites.
With Disney+ allowing for more live-action and animated "Star Wars" projects to take shape, the universe feels more connected than ever before, especially seeing how characters can be introduced in one show and pop up in another. That was the case with Boba Fett's right-hand woman, Fennec Shand (Ming-na Wen). Initially introduced in "The Mandalorian," Wen would go on to reprise the character in "The Bad Batch" and "The Book of Boba Fett." The new onslaught of media allows for characters to get expanded upon, and fans get a chance to spend more time with beloved characters.
Additionally, the actors get to develop these characters more and inhabit them across different projects. But of course, there are some drawbacks, such as the fact Wen has to wear a pretty daunting outfit whenever she plays Fennec Shand in live-action.
It's a lot of leather to wear in the blazing sun
It's become a common practice in Hollywood to film big-budget productions on a sound stage surrounded by green screens. However, many "Star Wars" projects have opted for greater realism as of late. "The Mandalorian" has pioneered a new technology known as The Volume to create a greater sense of depth. Additionally, some scenes simply take place in practical environments, which means the actors are out in the elements for hours at a time. This can create some complications, according to Ming-na Wen.
The actress spoke with the official "Star Wars" website about her time filming various projects, and she commented how it can be tough to film in costume either under the sun or the blazing lights of a stage. She stated, "Let me tell you: leather gloves, a helmet, and four layers of leather with boots? It gets really hot!...So about by the eighth hour, if we're in the Volume I get a little loopy." She goes on to relate how she would start singing to the Mandalorian at certain points to the tune of Barry Manilow's "Mandy," except it was "Mando."
And most of the time, when you see Fennec Shand on-screen, that's actually Wen, as she does many of her own stunts. She goes on to say how she does about 75% of her stunts: "I don't do some of the dangerous stuff. The helmet is very tough to work in, you have peripheral problems, you can't see down a lot so it just depends on the stunt. But I try to do as much as I can...I'm no spring chicken!" More Wen is always a good thing, so hopefully, she isn't done with her time in the "Star Wars" franchise.