Who Is Fennec Shand? Ming-Na Wen Makes Her Star Wars Debut

This story has NO plot spoilers for Star Wars: The Mandalorian.

There are plenty of cast crossovers between Stargate and Star Trek, but how about crossovers with Star Wars?

We saw familiar faces like Tony Amendola in the video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and Janina Gavankar in the game Star Wars: Battlefront II. But now Stargate has its first crossover in live action.

Stargate Universe co-star Ming-Na Wen appears in the newest installment of The Mandalorian, the first ever live-action Star Wars television series. The show premiered last month with the launch of the Disney+ streaming service.

Ming-Na plays Fennec Shand, a mercenary working for a number of powerful crime syndicates. The character’s first appearance is in episode 5, which premiered Friday.

Disney’s rather vague description of the episode reads: “The Mandalorian helps a rookie bounty hunter who is in over his head.”

Her participation in the series was revealed a few weeks ago.

“We got our inspiration really from the name,” Wen told Vanity Fair. “The idea of a fennec fox came to mind. 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 image of the fox also played into the character’s physical look, particularly when it came to designing her braided hair and leather costume. (Read more in the Vanity Fair interview.)

The actress played I.O.A. rep Camille Wray for two seasons on Stargate Universe. From there she hopped to the Marvel cinematic universe, with a 7-season stint as Agent Melinda May on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (The final season airs next year.)

Ming-Na makes her appearance in the fifth episode of the 8-part first season. She said that, like many in this lawless galaxy, Shand’s alliances are ultimately to herself.

“She is definitely someone who’s loyal to herself,” she said.

Stepping into the Star Wars universe makes a trifecta for our favorite Disney princess. Disney owns both Marvel Studios and Star Wars, and Ming-Na also voiced the title hero in the 1998 animated classic Mulan.

New episodes of The Mandalorian are currently streaming on Fridays, heading toward a special finale on December 27.

What do you think of The Mandalorian so far? Sound off below!

On Twitter: @MingNa