Bryce Dallas Howard Reveals If She’ll Appear in Star Wars: The Mandalorian

Disney+ is finally launching in November, and one of the first highly-anticipated shows to premiere the streaming service will be Star Wars: The Mandalorian. The new series is being helmed by Jon Favreau (Iron Man, The Lion King) but many other big names will be joining in to direct different episodes. One such celebrity is Bryce Dallas Howard, the actor best known for films like Jurassic World and Pete’s Dragon. In a recent interview with Adam Tanswell, Howard was asked if she’ll be making an appearance in front of the camera. Unfortunately, Howard will not be appearing on the series, but when asked how it felt to be on a Star Wars set, she did reveal that it was nothing new for her. In fact, she shared a story that involved her old “camp friend,” Natalie Portman, who played Padmé Amidala in the prequels.

“I went and visited Natalie quite a bit on that set when we were like 16-years-old,” Howard shared of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. “And also just kind of growing up around George [Lucas] and all of that. You know what, it feels like my childhood. That’s what it feels like. Going on a Star Wars set feels like my childhood. It’s the most amazing experience.”

Previously, Howard spoke with Variety about The Mandalorian and shared that she took advice from her father, Ron Howard, who has directed various films including Star Wars: A Solo Story.

“After Jurassic [which was filming on the same lot] I stayed and shadowed my dad on Solo,” Howard shared. “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.’”

Another other big tip came directly from George Lucas, who taught the Howards a lesson in collaboration back in 1988 on the set of Willow, which was directed by Ron Howard and written/produced by Lucas. Howard shared that while trying to “sculpt the narrative on set,” Lucas suggested that her father should let David Lowery, the film’s storyboard artist, “take a crack at it.”

“That really is the essence of collaboration and the power of collaboration,” Howard explained. “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.”

In addition to Howard, other episodes of The Mandalorian will be directed by Rick Famuyiwa (Dope, The Chi), Deborah Chow (Jessica Jones, Better Call Saul), Dave Filoni (Star Wars: Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels), and Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok, What We Do in the Shadows), who is also voicing IG-11 on the show. The series is set to star Pedro Pascal (Game of Thrones, Kingsman: The Golden Circle) in the titular role. He will be joined by actors Gina Carano (Deadpool, Fast & Furious 6), Carl Weathers (Rocky, Predator), Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad, The Jungle Book), Nick Nolte (48 Hrs., Warrior), and Werner Herzog (Jack Reacher, Metalocalypse).

Star Wars: The Mandalorian premieres on Disney+ on November 12th.