The Myth of Darth Vader's Name and the Deeper Meaning of Fennec Shand's Name

The Myth of Darth Vader's Name

The meaning of Darth Vader's name as a reference to him being Luke Skywalker's father is not true, but the name of one character from The Mandalorian has a lot deeper meaning. There are many Star Wars characters whose names carry a weight of significance. Sometimes, of course, these become the subject of legend - as in the example of Darth Vader. A popular myth claims that Darth Vader means 'Dark Father' in Dutch or German. This was fanned by George Lucas himself, but it can't possibly be correct; after all, there's abundant evidence Lucas didn't come up with the idea of Darth Vader being Luke Skywalker's father until the second draft of The Empire Strikes Back.

Ming-Na Wen as Fennec Shand in The Mandalorian.

The Deeper Meaning of Fennec Shand's Name

One modern character's name does have a deeper meaning, though; the assassin and former bounty hunter Fennec Shand, seen in The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and Star Wars: The Bad Batch, where she is played (and voiced in animation) by Ming-Na Wen. In an interview in Star Wars: The Mandalorian - Guide to Season Two, Ming-Na Wen revealed she drew traits from the fennec fox for her character. 'I started looking at videos of the fox; when she needs to fight and move, she bolts, she goes! There's a lot of energy when she has to do that,' she explained. That inspiration seeped into several parts of the character.

Ming-Na Wen incorporated elements of the fennec fox into Shand, and Lucasfilm did the same. The studio introduced orange elements onto her helmet, hair, and armor as an homage to the fox's sand-colored coat. Aside from the visual connections, Shand took on other aspects of the fennec fox. Like the fox, Shand was quick and agile enough to defeat even the most experienced of fighters, like Hunter and Wrecker in Star Wars: The Bad Batch. While Shand's ranking as a moral bounty hunter might not be the highest, there was no doubt she was one of the best gunslingers in the galaxy, thanks in part to her fox-like traits.

Shand also shared some personality traits with the fennec fox. Prior to working with Boba Fett, Shand hunted alone and only relied on and trusted herself, just like the fox. She also displayed extreme patience in her hunts, waiting for Din Djarin and Toro Calican to come to her on Tatooine. At the end of that battle, she also showed her cunning side by attempting to convince Calican to free her. While that attempt may have failed, it showed that even when her weapons and fighting abilities failed her, she still had a brilliant tactical mind and her own wits to fall back on. Shand was one of the most efficient and threatening bounty hunters in The Mandalorian, thanks in part to her animalistic qualities inherited from the fennec fox.