From Mulan to Assassin: Disney Legend Ming-Na Wen in Star Wars
How cool is that? Think about it. Ming-Na Wen is a Disney princess; an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D AND she’s now going to be an assassin in Star Wars.
Star Wars! Marvel! Disney!
Ming-Na Wen just keeps on kicking butt. And we’re taking names.
And, recently, Ms. Wen was interviewed by one of my heroes, Anthony Breznican.
Formerly of Entertainment Weekly and now posting for Vanity Fair, Breznican had the enviable task of tackling the career that is “Ming-Na Wen” and putting it into a few pages about The Mandalorian.
Of course, he handled it with aplomb.
From S.H.I.E.L.D To Star Wars
A fox can be a sly predator—or it can be the vulnerable, hunted prey. Ming-Na Wen’s new Star Wars character from The Mandalorian is someone who knows how quickly one can become the other.
The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Mulan actor will appear as the assassin Fennec Shand, who crosses paths with Pedro Pascal’s masked bounty hunter midway through the first season of the Disney+ series, which launches with the streaming service’s debut on November 12.
“We got our inspiration really from the name. The idea of a fennec fox came to mind,” Wen told Vanity Fair. “She’s tricky, and yet she’s able to maneuver and survive, and be stealthy—so very graceful and agile. I just love that whole image with the name.”
The words “graceful” and “agile” make a lot of sense when representing Ming-Na Wen. She makes it all look so easy.
Mulan and The Mandalorian
But even someone as talented and experienced as she is has to take a step back and reflect. And being in Star Wars certainly had Wen looking toward the horizon.
Wen said she is happy more Asian and Asian-American performers are finally appearing in galactic storytelling, especially since the earlier films borrowed so heavily from Asian cultural influences—from Darth Vader’s samurai-style helmet to Padmé Amidala’s Mongolian-style regal headdresses. “There was all this incredible imagery, but yet there were very few Asians in the films,” Wen said. “Any sort of representation is important and necessary. And I’m just happy that I got chosen. It was meant to be.”
Growing up in the late ’70s and early ’80s, Star Wars was a touchstone for her. “It’s definitely a film that has had such an impact in so many people’s lives, including my own,” Wen said. “As an Asian kid in Pittsburgh, and especially in Mount Lebanon, sometimes you feel very alone and very isolated.
And I think for me, with Star Wars, I connected so much with Luke having these dreams and wanting something bigger and better than being a little farmer in Tatooine. Just that image of him looking at the binary suns and wishing for more, it always stays with me.” Ming-Na Wen
Karabast. Is it Tuesday yet?
E chu ta, indeed.
