The actress-director, who will star in Jurassic World: Dominion in June, will direct an episode of The Mandalorian’s third season.
This is her fourth appearance in a Star Wars story, and it solidifies her relationship to the bounty hunting society. The first season’s episode “Sanctuary” and the second season’s episode “The Heiress” were directed by Howard. She also directed “Return of the Mandalorian,” a Mando-centric episode from last year’s The Book of Boba Fett, which was one of the show’s outstanding episodes.
Many champions have emerged from Disney+’s massive streaming series “The Mandalorian.” “Star Wars” fans, in particular, received a new story that was full of fan service without feeling pandering. Jon Favreau had the opportunity to dive into the “Star Wars” world and prove that he understands everything there is to know about the galaxy. Dave Filoni got the chance to show that his character-creating wizardry and storytelling prowess could be put to the test in real life. Grogu has become a global craze. Then there’s Bryce Dallas Howard, who has emerged as one of the most intriguing new directors in the “Star Wars” universe by kicking butt and taking names behind the camera.
After filming “The Mandalorian” season 1 episode 4 (named “The Sanctuary”), Howard went on to direct “The Heiress” in season 2 and then “Return of the Mandalorian,” perhaps the strongest episode of “The Book of Boba Fett,” which focused once again on the character of Din Djarin.
Howard’s return to direct “The Mandalorian” season 3 has been rumoured for the past 5 months or so, and now it appears to be even closer to becoming official thanks to a new piece from The Hollywood Reporter’s Borys Kit. It’s strange that Disney hasn’t acknowledged this, given that the third series has wrapped and is in post-production, with a February 2023 release date set.
Howard has shown that she is capable of not only dealing with the huge, sweeping visuals of “Star Wars,” but also of developing characters and worlds. Her episode of “The Book of Boba Fett” is especially rich in Mandalorian tradition, as we witness the silver-chromed defender of tiny Grogu strive to find out his place in the Mandalorian tight hierarchy now that he’s acquired the famed dark sabre.
Howard will next be seen in Matthew Vaughn’s Apple spy thriller Argyle, and Dominion will in theatres on June 10. On Saturday, Filoni will join Favreau on stage at Star Wars Celebration for a discussion about all things Mandalorian.