Star Wars Brings Back Director Bryce Dallas Howard for Book of Boba Fett’s Mando Crossover

The fifth episode of The Book of Boba Fett was released today and its title, “The Return of The Mandalorian,” is enough to get any Star Wars fan hyped. The series saw the long-awaited return of The Mandalorian‘s titular character who is back to hunting bounties and learning to use the Darksaber all while missing Grogu. The new Book of Boba Fett episode had another special connection to The Mandalorian, and that’s its director. Bryce Dallas Howard, who helmed “Chapter 4: Sanctuary” and “Chapter 11: The Heiress” of The Mandalorian returned to Star Wars to direct the latest episode of The Book of Boba Fett. 

“Happy Boba Day 💚 ⁣ #TheBookofBobaFett #StarWars #LoveMyJob ⁣ [ID 1: a very excited bdh holding a slate for ‘The Book of Boba Fett,’ a gift from the immensely talented cinematographer @davekleinasc]⁣ [ID 2: a black title card with text in green that reads, ‘Directed by Bryce Dallas Howard.’],” Howard shared on Instagram. You can check out her photos below:

Back when Howard helmed “The Heiress” for The Mandalorian, she talked about directing the live-action debut of Katee Sackhoff as Bo-Katan Kryze, a character Sackhoff voiced for the better part of a decade in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels. The arrival of Bo-Katan officially marked the merger of the animated and live-action Star Wars worlds, which fans had been waiting to see for some time. Digital Spy caught up with Howard and asked her about the importance her episode carried, and whether or not she felt the pressure of having to get Bo-Katan’s debut right. 

“I think I would have had it not been for Katee Sackhoff playing Bo-Katan, or if Dave Filoni wasn’t there,” Howard explained. “But because Dave Filoni was there, and Katee had played Bo for a decade – for me, it was basically about ensuring Katee’s vision and Filoni’s vision, along with Jon Favreau’s vision… how can I facilitate that?”

“That was my primary focus, rather than being like, ‘I have a perspective on The Clone Wars, and here’s that perspective.’ There are folks who have spent more time on this and have inhabited these characters in this world,” she continued. “So that was the fun of it for me. It was about getting all the experts in the room together, and being like, ‘I think this is the story you’re telling. Does that sound right?’ And they’re like, ‘Yeah.’ That’s more my role.”

As for The Book of Boba Fett, the series is set to have two more episodes, and Temuera Morrison previously teased an exciting finale, which will hit Disney+ on February 9th. In a joint interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Ming-Na Wen (Fennec Shand) stopped Morrison from revealing too much about “Chapter 7” ahead of its debut. “Yes, full of surprises. The Book of Boba ‘full of surprises’ series,” Morrison quipped. “Yeah, we’ve got some good stuff coming up. Ooh, wait till episode seven, wow!”

The first five episodes of The Book of Boba Fett are now streaming on Disney+.