“I have always loved science fiction and fantasy,” Ming-Na Wen said during a TCA press conference for The Book of Boba Fett, her love of Star Wars beginning as a teenager. “The force was with me because I was so connected and moved and responded so vividly and strongly to the character of Luke Skywalker trying to figure out his life, and his dreams, and what his potentials were. For a little Chinese girl growing up and wanting to be an actor back in those days in America, it was not a thing that my parents wanted for me, for sure, and not a thing that was an easy profession to go into. So the culmination of this show, being on The Mandalorian, and being here with Tem on The Book of Boba Fett, it's truly the American dream. It really is.”
(Disney+/Lucasfilm Ltd.)
Five of the show’s seven episodes are now streaming, a Wednesday tradition for Disney+ subscribers, but it also came as a surprise to its stars. “I never in my wildest dreams thought about playing Boba Fett or anything like that, Temuera Morrison shared, who first stepped into the Star Wars universe as Jango Fett in Attack of the Clones. “Twenty years later, and I must thank George [Lucas], I guess, for making me Jango Fett. And since Boba is the clone, the clone son of Jango, somebody at a meeting must have said, ‘Well, he's gotta look like Jango.’ And fortunately for me, it was still intact. A little older but yeah, just so lucky, very lucky. And we had a lot of fun, too, so it was just great news all around, really. It was just such a buzz to get the word to say, hey, we're gonna make a show, and you're gonna be working with Ming-Na. And we were actually pinching ourselves.”
The pivot from The Mandalorian to The Book of Boba Fett was so quick that Ming-Na was working on it before she and realized they were in a new show. “I remember there was one day on set, Ming-Na is going, ‘Isn't this The Mandalorian?’ I'm saying, ‘No, it's not The Mandalorian, this is our show, Ming-Na, you and me, you and I." Ming-Na laughed, saying “I'm always the last to know, always.” But when you hear about the way the show is filmed, it makes sense why anyone in Ming-Na’s situation would’ve been confused.
“I'm used to doing the TV show where we do one episode and then we finish that and we do the next one and there's some clarity and continuity,” Ming-Na explained. But with so many flashbacks to shoot, things were done even more out of order than usual. “One day we could be shooting the finale and the next day we're going back to episode one.” This required a lot of makeup and prosthetic changes for Temuera. “We actually had about eight versions of this journey that Boba had to go on,” Temuera shared, adding that he would often find inspiration for his acting choices by watching his face transform for the scene.
“We were dealing mostly with the daily schedule and getting through each day filming because that was tough enough with the COVID restrictions and all the time that took up with testing and airing out the studios; It had to be aired for 70 minutes,” Temuera revealed, explaining that there wasn’t much time to imagine what the series would be because they were in it so quickly. “I just really trust in Jon [Favreau] and Dave [Filoni] and their writing and I just wanted to be better and good… To be part of this journey has just been a fantastic opportunity. Also kind of gives new life to my career in these mature years.”
Speaking of gratitude, Disney Legend Ming-Na Wen shared hers for the parent company of Lucasfilm Ltd. “Mickey Mouse has really done a lot for my career,” she said. “I am grateful that I learned so much stunt fighting in Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D that it really lent itself to me being able to be Fennec as well as I can play her. All those years of training definitely have provided a great deal of advantages.”
No hints were given about what comes next for Boba Fett or Fennec Shand and while a third season of The Mandalorian is in production, both Ming-Na and Temuera gave the impression that they currently have some time on their hands. “We're really sitting back and enjoying the fruits of our hard work,” Temuera said. “And I'm enjoying it, sitting down with my family, having a good laugh, and really taking it all in.” Ming-Na is also tuning in to new episodes every Wednesday. “Well, that's the great thing about streaming, isn't it, is that you can go back and watch it again and again,” she shared. “I mean, on Disney+, it's my new favorite streaming platform, it really is… Because we're on it,” she laughed.
New episodes of The Book of Boba Fett stream on Wednesdays through February 9th.