The Book of Boba Fett': Ming-Na Wen And Temuera Morrison 'Got To Represent' For The Older Action Stars [TCA]

“The Book of Boba Fett” appears to be another “Star Wars” series smash for Disney Plus. This morning, Boba Fett himself, Temuera Morrison, and Boba’s second in command, Fennec Shand, Ming-Na Wen, joined a virtual conference to answer questions from the Television Critics Association. And their excitement over the fan reception (at least) of the series was evident.

READ MORE: ‘Book Of Boba Fett’: Jon Favreau says Jabba’s Death led to “power vacuum” and opportunities to play in gangster genre

One of the subjects that at least Morrison kept returning to was how surprising this opportunity was in his career considering he’s 61-years-old. The ageless Wen appreciates the opportunity to continue to represent “older, strong females” on screen.

“I’m very fortunate. I do have a certain set of skills, whether it’s with martial arts or whether it’s with kickboxing or learning stunt fighting, which is another incredible art form,” Wen says. “But this aspect is vital. It used to be when women [were] 40, they get put up to pasture. And I’m far beyond that now, and it’s great that I can still continue to do this. I feel very privileged and honored and I’m living out my dream of being in a ‘Star Wars’ project. So you know I’m going to kick butt for as long as I can, along with my fellow grandpa, as he likes to call us. Which I don’t think we are. We’re way too hot for that”

Morrison resorts, “Some long days on the set sometimes and I’m looking at Mind-Na and I’m going, ‘Not bad for an old man and an old lady, eh? Action stars at our age.’ So we’d have a good laugh and pick each other up and say, ‘Come on, we got to represent. We got to represent.'”

Created by Jon Favreau and executive produced by Dave Filoni, Robert Rodriguez (who also directed a number of episodes), Kathleen Kennedy, and Colin Wilson, “Boba Fett” finds our anti-hero as the new crime lord on Tatooine following the assassination of Jaba the Hutt at the end of “The Mandalorian,” season 2. Morrison was never clear what Boba’s future was following that scene, but he’s obviously delighted Lucasfilm wanted to give the fan-favorite character a long-deserved spotlight.

He notes, “I didn’t really have expectations, but I just really trust in John and Dave and their writing and I just wanted to be better and good. And I made the most of that opportunity when I appeared in ‘The Mandalorian’ and I had in the back of my mind, ‘This could lead to some more or possibly a show like The Book of Boba,’ which it did. But I’m very honored, very fortunate and we’re very lucky that the fans received us both well. And to be part of this journey has just been a fantastic opportunity. Also kind of gives a new life to my career in these mature years.”

Morrison first portrayed the bounty hunter Jango Fett in 2002’s “Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones.” A character whose DNA was used to create a clone army to do the Empire’s bidding. One of those clones, Jango’s “clone son,” became Boba Fett. But the New Zealand native admits his knowledge of “Star Wars” has always been basic, at best. He depended on Favreau, Filoni, and even the crew, to help shape his insight and, in so doing, his performance.

The Book Of Boba Fett

“it was 20 years ago when I played Jango Fett and I just remember having so much fun on that in Sydney, back in the year 2000,” Morrison says. “And I thought, ‘Well, here’s a great opportunity to get stuck in.’ And I draw a lot on my people around me, the makeup people, the people like Diego, who’s our grip while we’re shooting. So these people are really fan-based technicians as well. So, having them on my side and there on the day, I was always tapping into their knowledge. So it was a combined effort, along with Dave and John and Robert, of course. And they all had their notes for every day. So I was just working on the process every day. Just every scene that we came across, ‘O.K let’s just deal to this scene. What’s Boba doing here? What does he want? Okay, let’s do this to the best of my ability and move on.'”

After just three episodes, the dynamic between Boba Fett and Fennec often seems slightly contentious. Wen believes her character just has less patience than her boss.

“Boba Fett’s gone through an incredible life experience, living with the Tuskens and learning their ways and being part of a real family,” Wen says. “And she is someone who is used to just being a loner and getting things done and not questioning her choices. And so there is some stumbling blocks while they’re trying to learn diplomacy, really. And Boba and Fennec respect each other very much. So there’s a lot of give and take and he kind of reigns her in. Sort of like on set in real life. Right Tem?”

“Well, you’re the brains, I’m the brawn,” Morrison jokes. “And I think just like Ming-Na answered, she’s got to speak for me because I’m the silent, quiet kind. So, Ming-Na’s there to do all my talking and be diplomatic. But yeah, it’s a wonderful relationship, it kind of grows through the series as well. So yeah, we have our playful moments where we have to discuss things and learn from one another and learn that sometimes the gung-ho way is not really going to work. Sometimes it takes a little bit more what Ming-Na has…”

Wen interjects, “Finesse. Right? Finesse.”

“All of that. I like that word finesse,” Morrison replies.

Following episode 3, there has been some criticism from fans about the fate of The Tuskens, the indigenous tribe on Tatooine. After a contentious first encounter, The Tuskens took Bobba Fett in and he proved his worth to them as he forged a campaign to protect their native lands. His efforts, at this point of the series at least, are unfortunately unsuccessful. Morrisson tried to delicately answer a question about the mild controversy.

“It was better than it was, anyway. There were times when [the script] kind of read, we were just throwing dead bodies just on the fire and I was going, ‘Oh, hang on a minute, hang on a minute. We got to put a bit of ceremony in this,'” Morrison reveals. “But they are the indigenous of the Sands of Tatooine and it was just creating a little bit more history about their own culture and I was pulling from my own culture in a way too, in terms of just coming to terms with all the ceremonies and things like that and preparing the warrior and preparing a weapon and things like that.”

“The Book of Boba Fett” debuts new episodes every Wednesday on Disney+.