Fennec Shand is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise portrayed by Ming-Na Wen in the Disney+ television series The Mandalorian, The Bad Batch, and The Book of Boba Fett.

An elite mercenary and assassin, she was introduced in "Chapter 5: The Gunslinger" of The Mandalorian, in which she is sought by the show's title character and another bounty hunter, Toro Calican, who seemingly kills her.

"Chapter 14: The Tragedy" established that Fennec was saved by Boba Fett, leaving her in his debt, and had parts of her body replaced with cybernetics.

Wen felt the character shared common attributes with the fox, including trickiness, stealthiness, maneuverability, and the ability to survive.

Lebanon, Pennsylvania, she particularly related to the character Luke Skywalker and his dreams of a more meaningful life, recalling, "Just that image of him looking at the binary suns and wishing for more, it always stays with me.

A black, leather outfit of armor with broad shoulders and accents of orange, it was inspired by the fennec fox referenced in the character's name.

[30] In The Mandalorian, Fennec Shand is presented as an elite mercenary and assassin who developed a significant reputation committing murders for the galaxy's top crime syndicates,[27][1] including the Hutts,[33][24] before their leaders were imprisoned by the New Republic.

[38] They track Fennec to a part of the planet known as the Dune Sea,[25][39][40] where they discover the dead body of another bounty hunter she had previously killed.

[42][43][44] Shand returns in the second-season episode "Chapter 14: The Tragedy", in which it is revealed that she was rescued by Boba Fett, who nursed her back to health using cybernetics and recruited her as his partner.

After the latter episode, after their debt has been paid off, Fennec and Fett return to Tatooine and kill Bib Fortuna, who has been in charge of Jabba the Hutt's palace since his death.

[45] A younger Fennec appears in the animated series Star Wars: The Bad Batch,[46] with Ming-Na Wen returning to voice the character.

In the episode "Cornered", a docking official contacts her about the Bad Batch and Omega's presence on Pantora, and Fennec arrives there.

After Fennec fights Hunter and later knocks out Wrecker, she gives chase on a stolen speeder, but the Bad Batch and Omega eventually escape from Pantora.

Nala Se tells her that Omega is "safe" as long as she is not in the hands of Kaminoan Prime Minister Lama Su and that she will transfer Fennec her payment.

[52] She serves as Fett's right-hand woman following his takeover of Jabba's criminal empire and assists him with running it and eliminating any possible rivals.

Izak Bulten of Screen Rant wrote: "Despite appearing in just one episode, she had a clear, well-realized character and has quickly become a favorite amongst fans of the series.

[26] Vanity Fair writer Anthony Breznican felt the character continued a positive and significant trend of greater diversity in Star Wars casting, citing other examples of Asian actors in recent projects such as Kelly Marie Tran in The Last Jedi and Christopher Sean in Star Wars Resistance.

[33] Kerr Lordygan of TV Fanatic wrote that "Fennec's demise was too easily obtained, though the possibility of her return was left open".

[61] Several reviewers correctly speculated that the character was still alive,[27][36][62][63][64] with some arguing this is foreshadowed by the final scene of "Chapter 5: The Gunslinger", during which a mysterious stranger investigates her body.

Allie Gemmill called that scene "one of the most tantalizing closings to a Mandalorian episode since the series premiere revealed Baby Yoda".

[27] Dirk Libbey called the mysterious character's identity and his interest in Fennec "one of our bigger cliffhanger moments" from the series.

[58] Evan Romano said he would not be surprised to see Fennec Shand turn up again in a future Star Wars film or series, writing: "This character seems just a little too capable, and a little too cool to be disarmed and killed after just a single brief appearance".