The Mandalorian has been a hit with Star Wars fans around the world. Bringing on many directors, including Bryce Dallas Howard, who directed “Chapter 4: Sanctuary”
Season 2 started filming in the fall and Bryce Dallas Howard is set to take the director’s chair once more. The second season will premiere on Disney Plus in October.
While Promoting Rocketman, Bryce was asked about her experience while directing The Mandalorian. While she can’t go into too much detail about the episode she directed, she did talk a little about the technology used.
Howard, who is the daughter of Solo: A Star Wars Story director Ron Howard, sat down with Collider to discuss her work on The Mandalorian and one very interesting bit of information pertained to the technology used to make the series.
“It’s really, John Favreau, of course, is known for pushing emerging technology forward. What he did with Jungle Book, what he is doing now with The Lion King. I mean this is really extraordinary, sort of what is possible because of these projects. There were so many times when I would be like ‘It’s okay John we can just do it that way,’ and he’s like ‘I just want to see if its possible, we just need to see if its possible,’ I’m like ‘okay’ and its tested and way more times you find out it is possible and its better.”
At this year’s Star Wars Celebration in Chicago, Favreau and other cast and crew showed some behind the scenes shots that showed how much practical effects are being used in making this show. Practical effects can benefit from advancements in technology every bit as much as CGI can. New cameras, rigs, 3D printing of models, and even materials for props all enhance practical effects.Howard also mentions a device called “The Volume” which surrounds the person in it with high tech LED screens and allows them to see the world they’re in. I imagine this is a non-VR version of how Steven Spielberg and his crew were able to see The Oasis while filming Ready Player One. The Volume and VR headsets allow directors and cinematographers to see the digital world and objects that will play a part in a scene and helps them set up shot angles, understand the depth of field, and how ratios in size of set pieces will look.
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As we all know, Bryce Dallas Howard has been hard at work, this time working behind the camera. She’s got two upcoming projects where she sits proudly in the director’s chair.
Directing has always been her greatest passion and she’s happy to admit that she’s been directing full time right now. Though she will be taking a break at the end of this year, or early next year when Jurassic World 3 starts shooting.
While promoting Tide Pureclean, Bryce talked with IBT about her next directing project, The Mandalorian.
Bryce Dallas Howard is officially working in the Star Wars universe. The “Jurassic World” actress is directing an episode of “The Mandalorian,” the new live-action TV series for Disney+. She told International Business Times that the experience has been “incredible.”
“Yeah, it’s been amazing,” she told IBT at an event for Tide Purclean in early April. “Done directing, almost done editing. It’s awesome. It’s been incredible. And working under [executive producers] Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni has been such, just, I don’t know. It’s like going to Star Wars grad school. It’s so fun. Everyone is having such a good time all the time ‘cause you’re on a Star Wars set.”
The series follows a “lone gunfighter” played by Pedro Pascal. “The Mandalorian” is set about three years after “Return of the Jedi,” after the fall of the Empire but before the First Order emerges. Howard directed one episode, and Deborah Chow, Rick Famuyiwa and Taika Waititi helmed others. Filoni directed the pilot.
It sounds like the Star Wars universe is exactly the kind of imaginary world Howard loves to see on screen. The star revealed that she wants to direct stories similar in scope in the future.
“There are certain things that I’m drawn to that are specific, and it’s clear in my acting work what kind of [storytelling] that is. It’s the same thing with movies,” she said of choosing future directing projects. “I love epic storytelling, I love mythologies, you know? And kind of getting into these stories that feel absolutely, that you can absolutely relate to and yet, you know, it takes place in a galaxy far, far away. So, yeah, I just want to keep playing with wonderful people who are brilliant.”
“The Mandalorian” isn’t the only directing gig Howard has lined up. Expect to see her behind the camera much more in the future.
“I’m directing full-time. So I’m directing right now a feature documentary, and then ‘Mandalorian’ and then there’s another feature for Netflix that I think is gonna happen in a few months, actually. And so yeah, I’ll then go and do ‘Jurassic’ and then hopefully more directing. I mean, I definitely always want to act, but for a little while it might be more kind of sort of between directing projects, I think.”IBT
“The Mandalorian” will release Nov. 12, the day Disney+ launches.