Disney has struggled mightily to get any new Star Wars movie projects off the ground with loads cancelled and others in unclear stages of development. The only “definitely happening” one is The Mandalorian and Grogu, which of course came from the Disney Plus TV series.
But if there is one fixture in the Star Wars universe behind the scenes that should be given their own movie, it’s none other than Bryce Dallas Howard, the actress-director daughter of actor-director Ron Howard who has consistently put out amazing episodes of Star Wars series that she’s been given to direct.
That was on full display this week with Skeleton Crew’s Zero Friends Again, where the plot did not move forward much but Howard did brilliant work with the story available and it’s easily one of the best episodes of the already-good series.
- She did the fourth episode of The Mandalorian, Sanctuary, where Mando has to defend a village from raiders in an AT-ST, a thrilling entry.
- In season 3 of The Mandalorian, she directed Guns for Hire, which focused on Bo-Katan challenging Mandalorian privateers for leadership over the group, uniting the groups to try to go and retake Mandalore.
- She did episode five of The Book of Boba Fett, one of the only good episodes because it moved away from Boba Fett entirely and brought Mando back for a full episode in between his seasons. It’s the episode where he gets beskar armor for Grogu and makes a new ship out of an N-1 Starfighter.
She didn’t do any episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ahsoka, Andor or The Acolyte, but the general consensus among fans is that when Bryce Dallas Howard shows up, it’s going to be a banger.
It seems like a far better idea to give Howard her own Star Wars movie, whatever it might be, rather than bringing in more outside directors like James Mangold or Simon Kinberg, both being ported over from X-Men, of all places. Howard knows Star Wars, and deserves a shot at the big time. If not a movie, give her a series all to herself. Maybe she could make something set in the Old or High Republic work for once.
Will this happen? Who knows. She may just keep directing periodic TV episodes, but the only Star Wars show that is even returning is Ahsoka, plus Andor wrapping with season 2, which is already done filming. Skeleton Crew seemed like it may have been on deck to become an ongoing series, but budget versus viewership is a real concern.
Disney may be risk-averse when it comes to Star Wars these days, hence why the only thing it’s making is a Mandalorian movie, but Howard does not seem like a risk, and she’s earned a bigger project.
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