A Mandalorian character is making the leap from live-action to animation

The Mandalorian
(Image credit: Disney)

Disney and LucasFilm announced a lot of new Star Wars stuff during their so-called Investors' Day. There was confirmation of an Ahsoka Tano series, one called Rangers of the New Republic, a Lando spin-off, and even A Droid Story, about R2-D2 and C-3PO. And that's not to mention additional details on the Obi-Wan Kenobi series, such as Hayden Christensen returning as Darth Vader, and an Andor sizzle trailer.

What you may have missed, however, was the first trailer for The Bad Batch, an animated Star Wars show about a group of defective clones who first appeared in The Clone Wars series. However, to our surprise, another familiar face made an appearance: Fennec Shand.

The Bad Batch

(Image credit: LucasFilm)

That name should be familiar to those who have watched The Mandalorian. The Star Wars character first appeared during season 1, played by Ming-Na Wen, and then reappeared during season 2 alongside Boba Fett, who had brought her back from the dead. Fennec has quickly become a fan-favourite, and she will be the first character from The Mandalorian to make the leap from live-action to animation.

Of course, The Mandalorian has huge ties to the animated Star Wars series: Ahsoka Tano, who also appeared during season 2, was first seen in Clone Wars and Rebels. So, too, was Bo-Katan, who made the leap from animation to live-action in 2020.

Could we see further Mandalorian characters in The Bad Batch? While it's unlikely, Grogu is 50 years old... and who wouldn't want to see the adorable creature in animated form? We can only hope.

In the investors' call, it was revealed that 10 new Star Wars shows are in development – and they were not joking around. For more, check out our piece on all the upcoming Star Wars movies.

Jack Shepherd
Freelance Journalist

Jack Shepherd is the former Senior Entertainment Editor of GamesRadar. Jack used to work at The Independent as a general culture writer before specializing in TV and film for the likes of GR+, Total Film, SFX, and others. You can now find Jack working as a freelance journalist and editor.