Frequent ‘Star Wars’ Director Bryce Dallas Howard Reveals Why She Keeps Returning to the Saga, Hypes up ‘Ahsoka’ Season 2

In 2019, Star Wars finally made the jump to live-action TV with The Mandalorian. That show had an impressive line-up of directors for its first season, but one name many were surprised to see among the roster was that of Bryce Dallas Howard. Although she had directed short films in the past, Howard was best known for her acting career. Her first episode of The Mandalorian marked her television directing debut, and the impressive results spoke for themselves.

In the years since, Howard has returned to direct for each subsequent season of The Mandalorian as well as The Book of Boba Fett and Skeleton Crew. Soon, she’ll have yet another Star Wars show to add to her resume as she has recently finished principal photography on two episodes of Ahsoka‘s second season.

In a conversation with People magazine (hat tip GamesRadar), Howard talked about why she finds herself often coming back to direct stories in George Lucas’s beloved galaxy.

“I love it so, so, so much. I yearn to stay on this path of being able to be in that world, and grow, and learn and challenge myself.

 

“But also, it’s not just about me. It’s about the medium. So many people want to do things in Star Wars. And…you have to kind of look at the reasons why. Is it because it brings you back to your childhood? Is it because you think that that’s the way to make a lot of money? Is it because you are very connected to the audience and you want to deliver an experience? What’s the motivation?”

At this point, Howard is one of the most prolific directors of live-action Star Wars series, having helmed seven episodes across four shows. Given that she’s worked on so many projects for Lucasfilm, Howard has noticed some similarities in how they’re managed. Specifically, the filmmakers behind each show always try to make the most of their resources, no matter how substantial their budget is.

“They’re very efficient in terms of resources, because they know – while there is access to resources that most projects wouldn’t have – they don’t want to take advantage of it. They want to stretch [the budget] as far as you can. You want every dollar to be onscreen…it’s using the indie mentality of like, ‘Okay, how can we get this in a way that’s efficient, and economical and serves the story?’ And sometimes, as everyone knows, the limitations obviously often give birth to the greatest ideas.”

Next year, fans will get to see even more of Howard’s work once Ahsoka Season 2 arrives on Disney+. Unsurprisingly, she was full of praise for the upcoming episodes.

“Y’all, it’s so good. It’s SO good. It is beautiful; it is thrilling; it is adventurous; it is romantic. It’s all the things that you want from an epic story. I just got to finish that up and [am] working on the cut, and it is just one of the greatest privileges and joys of my life, getting to play in that sandbox.”

Ahsoka‘s first season ended with lots of plotlines unresolved and characters in unusual places. Time will tell how effectively the next round of episodes capitalizes on the potential the series demonstrated in its debut, but it’s reassuring that capable and passionate directors are behind the camera.