Much like Anakin Skywalker, we too hate sand. So we found ourselves feeling empathic for the stars of Disney+'s new Star Wars series, The Book of Boba Fett, as many action sequences took place on a sand-ridden set that served as the desert world Tatooine.
In the first two episodes, Temuera Morrison, who plays the show's titular character, is seen running, fighting and digging through his sandy surroundings. Co-star Ming-Na Wen, who plays mercenary and Boba Fett counselor Fennec Shand, also had her action skills put to the test, as her character is spotted impressively fighting off assassins in episode two.
And, as Morrison and Wen revealed during an exclusive chat with E! News, their action-packed scenes were pulled off thanks to stunt doubles and their own physical abilities.
"I never fear giving credit where credit is due," Wen explained on becoming Fennec. "Both Tem and I are very capable in being physical and being able to do our own stunts, but we have to hand it over to our incredible stunt doubles. Mine is Ming Qiu. She's been with me for over 10 years, and she's my trainer and my friend."
As she continued, Wen said that she and the other cast member rely on the stunt people to help "tell a great story," adding, "We can't be injured, because then we can't work and we would delay production. So any of the dangerous stuff, we hand it over to the professionals. But we do, I would say, 80 percent of our own stuff."
"More like 90 percent of the stuff," Morrison chimed in. Still, the Star Wars legend, who also played Jango Fett in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, credited a friend for helping him get into fighting shape.
"We really worked hard physically," he added, "and that was just to get ready. There were going to be long days on the sand, it was going to be hot and, you know, it was physical."
Morrison further emphasized the need to prepare for this role, as some of the fighting scenes took hours to shoot. "You've been there since six in the morning," he noted, "and you're still fighting, you're still doing the scene. So it was about preparation, getting the body ready to sustain because the very next day, you're going to do some other action and another scene."
With a smile, Morrison quipped that he's "still recovering and it's been six months."
Catch all the action for yourself as episodes one and two of The Book of Boba Fett are now available on Disney+.