Star Wars TV is getting the live-action treatment thanks to The Mandalorian coming to Disney+, and it turns out that Disney is bringing one of its existing stars into the fold. An Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. star is jumping from Marvel to Star Wars for the show. Ming-Na Wen, who has actually been part of the Disney family for more than 20 years already, signed on for the series.
News of Ming-Na Wen's casting was revealed by Disney CEO Bob Iger during the 2019 Disney Legends Ceremony at D23 Expo 2019 (via IGN). Unsurprisingly, he didn't drop any details about what kind of character Wen will play for Star Wars' first live-action series, but she joins an already-stacked cast.
Now that she's joined the Star Wars universe, Ming-Na Wen has some unique bragging rights: she's a Disney princess since voicing Mulan in the 1998 movie of the same name, she's played Agent Melinda May for all six seasons of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. so far and will presumably continue with May into the seventh and final season, and now she's in Star Wars.
If she plays one of the good guys on The Mandalorian in the Star Wars universe after playing Mulan and May, then I think she officially qualifies as an all-around Disney hero! Will The Mandalorian mark a departure for Ming-Na Wen, though, and she'll play a baddie? Or perhaps somebody who isn't really a good guy or a bad guy?
The Mandalorian will pick up five years after the events of Return of the Jedi, so the galactic conflict of the original trilogy will have died down and the new galactic conflict with the First Order and the sequel trilogy won't have fully risen up yet. Maybe there will be more morally ambiguous characters in The Mandalorian!
It does look like the action will take place largely off-the-beaten-tracks from what the films have covered, and mostly take place in an era that hasn't already been covered via a movie or animated TV show. Hopefully more info about The Mandalorian releases sooner rather than later to answer some questions, ahead of the November 12 release. At least now we know when we can see Ming-Na Wen in action ahead of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 7, which doesn't air until summer 2020!
The Mandalorian executive producer Jon Favreau already revealed why fans can expect the TV show's CGI to be better than the prequel CGI, despite the fact that production for TV is generally quite different (and usually smaller in scale) than for film. Favreau also got some valuable advice from George Lucas about the series, and all signs point toward a show that fits the tone of the original trilogy rather than the prequel or sequel trilogies. Throw in the fact that Season 2 is already in development, and there's a lot to look forward to.
The first season of The Mandalorian, now with Ming-Na Wen on board, launches with Disney+ on November 12. For some viewing options to pass the time before that galaxy far, far away comes to the small screen in live-action, swing by our fall TV premiere guide.
