The Mandalorian: Carl Weathers Praises Deborah Chow's Precise Direction

With the release of "Chapter 3" of The Mandalorian on Disney+, Star Wars finally has its very first female director in the live-action realm of the franchise with Deborah Chow. The Canadian filmmaker has made a name for herself in the realm of television before her debut in a galaxy far, far away, directing episodes of hit shows like Mr. Robot, Iron Fist, Fear the Walking Dead, Better Call Saul, and Jessica Jones. Chow also directed the upcoming "Chapter 7" of the series, the penultimate episode of the first season, and her skills clearly impressed the powers that be at Lucasfilm as she'll be directing every episode of the Obi-Wan Kenobi spin-off series.

Following her first episode's debut, The Mandalorian co-star Carl Weathers had high praise for Chow's direction on set and working with the actors in the episode. Speaking with Variety, the Greef Carga actor said that Chow was "really fantastic to work with on so many levels."

"It really came across that she knew what she wanted and had mapped out what this episode was going to be very precisely," Weathers added. "As an actor working with so many different directors, when somebody has a great sense of what they want to do, it allows you a lot more freedom and your choices are much more in sync. She took the pressure off of me and the other actors."

Weathers downplayed Chow's status as the first woman to direct a live-action Star Wars project though, saying he doesn't see why it's such a big deal.

"I don't want to pour water on that or anything, but to me it isn't such a big deal. Why is it such a big deal if a woman directs an episode of "Star Wars" and does a great job? She came in and hit it out of the park. Good directors are good directors and it's high time that we give people a shot who are just good directors and who do a great job."

To elaborate on why that might be a big deal to some, before The Mandalorian's debut, only white men had directed live-action Star Wars adventures. From George Lucas to J.J. Abrams there have been no women to step behind the camera for the galaxy far, far away. This trend stretches back over 40 years and even includes the various filmmakers that have signed on for Star Wars projects and departed over creative differences. With The Mandalorian though, Chow will be joined by Bryce Dallas Howard in directing episodes along with filmmakers of color Rick Famuyiwa and Taika Waitit.

"We really wanted to select a director who is able to explore both the quiet determination and rich mystique of Obi-Wan in a way that folds seamlessly into the Star Wars saga," Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy previously said about Chow. "Based on her phenomenal work developing our characters in The Mandalorian, I'm absolutely confident Deborah is the right director to tell this story."

The Mandalorian's first season will debut new episodes weekly on the Disney+ platform, with new episodes typically arriving every Friday on the service, except for episode 6 which will be released on Wednesday, December 18 (ahead of the release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker). The season one finale for The Mandalorian will debut on Friday, December 27, with season two already officially in the works at Lucasfilm and Disney+.

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