Bryce Dallas Howard Shares How Solo Helped Her Land Directorial Spot on The Mandalorian

Bryce Dallas Howard has been proving herself to be one of her generation's most multi-faceted artists. From acting for roles in projects like Black Mirror and Rocketman to filming several shorts, she has now taken on a new major role with her leap into the directing chair with The Mandalorian's fourth episode.

Speaking to Fandom, the actress turned director described her experience delving into the galaxy far, far away and how she managed to land the job.

"It's personal to me, because I grew up around George [Lucas], and was on the set of Willow and getting Star Wars figures as Christmas gifts from him, so this is deeply important to me. But, it's also deeply important to everyone else, you know?" the actress said. Dallas Howard is the daughter of renowned director Ron Howard, the man behind Jurassic World and of course, Solo which the actress partly credits to how she landed her directing gig.

"When my dad did Solo, honestly, I was like, ‘Hey, you know that word nepotism? I'm calling it in. I am shadowing you on set,'" she shared. This experience enabled her to talk to some people from both Lucasfilm and ILM, which allowed them to see more of her love for technology and filmmaking. This eventually led to her spending time with Dave Filoni, who would, later on, inform Jon Favreau of Dallas Howard's interest. Luckily for her, he was actively seeking out directors for The Mandalorian.

In the same interview, the actress sums up her directing experience of the episode as "magical" and further elaborates on the amazing art of bringing stories to life: "It's just been incredible. From a storytelling perspective, it's absolutely exhilarating, and on another level, but from a technological standpoint, there's no other place that I would rather be on planet Earth."

The Mandalorian's fourth episode is now available for streaming on Disney+. It is set to have eight episodes overall for its first season.

Related: Star Wars: The Mandalorian Director Shares Plans for Obi-Wan Kenobi Series