The newest entry in the Star Wars franchise is not the end of the Skywalker Saga, as we still have to wait until the end of the year until we see Episode IX premiering in theaters. No, instead fans get to look forward to the first live-action series set to premiere on the Disney+ streaming service in November, showing a new look at the galaxy in Star Wars: The Mandalorian. And while it will be unlike anything we’ve seen so far from the franchise, the show will be recruiting some legacy talent to help bring it to life.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Actress Bryce Dallas Howard is stepping behind the camera for The Mandalorian, directing an episode rather that starring in it. She spoke with Entertainment Weekly about following in her father Ron Howard’s footsteps, who directed Solo: A Star Wars Story and has been a frequent collaborator with George Lucas.
“Getting to be a director, part of The Mandalorian, it’s been like…Jon [Favreau] didn’t even know that about me,” said Howard. “It was a dream come true on so many levels. He’s a brilliant filmmaker, but a better mentor — he just wants to share in the excitement and passion of filmmaking and what’s possible. Nothing about it that’s proprietary. It’s let’s push this forward and see what else can happen. I was doing Dads at the same time I was shooting Mandalorian and the stuff I was learning from Jon Favreau was completely applicable to a documentary.”
Howard also spoke with Variety about the influence Ron left on her, explaining that she was able to sit with him while he made his own Star Wars movie.
“After [Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, which was filming on the same lot] I stayed and shadowed my dad on Solo,” Howard explained. “What he just kept saying again and again and again… ‘This is just the most incredible sandbox that you will ever get the opportunity to play in.’”
She also explained that she learned a key lesson from George Lucas himself, who knew to empower the crew he surrounded himself with in order to make the best film possible.
“That really is the essence of collaboration and the power of collaboration,” Howard said. “The people are just all in, give everything, own it, own the process themselves, and then are like, ‘Your turn.’ It is so exhilarating and grounding and it doesn’t ever get about the ego, because it’s all about Star Wars, which it needs to be.”
The Mandalorian premieres in theaters on November 12th.
