Steve Batley
Following on from important plot revelations by Executive Producer Jon Favreau, Star Wars fans were treated to even more intriguing news yesterday, courtesy of Lucasfilm themselves, with the release of a set photo from the set of The Mandalorian, seeming to tease the first appearance of the titular character as production begins.
With recent news of vital plot details, via Jon Favreau’s twitter feed of his new live action streaming Star Wars series scheduled to premiere on Disney Play late 2019, the photo showing someone in the iconic Mandalorian outfit, in some very familiar surroundings, will surely excite fans. with the reassuring news that the show will be set after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the First Order, it is clear the series follows in the true spirit of the franchise.
With Executive Producer Jon Favreau, joined by Kathleen Kennedy and Colin Wilson, with Karen Gilchrist serving as co-executive producer, the show already has some imposing names behind it. And now things are also looking even more impressive with further news of the line-up of some pretty talented directors set to helm the individual episodes. So far we have five directors named by StarWars.com themselves, proving that even before the cast has even become widely known, this is already looking to bode well for the series, with a pantheon of talented directors set to steer the show into the new era.
Including Dave Filoni. practically a Jedi Master within the Star Wars universe, having directed 2008’s animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars film as well as episodes of the Star wars Clone Wars, Rebels and Resistance series. As of press release Filoni is set to direct the series’ premiere episode.
Following on with some more select talent we will see Bryce Dallas Howard, a huge name since her role in M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village, following with the third season Black Mirror premiere episode Nosedive and most recently the latest Jurassic World movies, as well as a director of several shorts since 2006. And as daughter of Ron Howard, the director of Solo: A Star Wars Story, her pedigree is similarly assured.
Ensuring that his irreverent style will also be added, is Taika Waititi, who many will remember from his tour de force Thor: Ragnarok, the third in the series. Having given an electrifying sense of humor to the movie as well as fairly clued up nods to the comic origins with the homage to Jack Kirby, he also demonstrably changed the tone from the previous two instalments, including his take on World War Hulk, including some of Green Gene’s friends and allies from that title and ensuring the success and renewed interest in the Asgardian god.
Also Deborah Chow, 2005 Kodak New Vision Mentorship award for her short film The Hill and winning critical acclaim for her feature film, The High Cost of Living in 2010, herself a director of episodes of both Fear of the Walking Dead and The Man in the High Castle, as well as the Iron Fist episode Lead Horse back to Stable and Jessica Jones episode AKA God Help the Hobo, as well as Better Call Saul and Snowfall.
And last but not least, Rick Fumuyiwa is a director of some acclaim since his 1999 first feature The Wood, for which he was nominated for Best Director by The Black Reel Awards in 2000, he not only wrote and directed 2015’s critically acclaimed Dope, about a nerdy kid who has trouble fitting in, but has worked as director and producer on Lena Waithe’ The Chi, proving more than capable of managing a sprawling narrative with interconnect individual stories all linking in to the larger narrative.
Tune in to StarWars.com for more of a Galaxy Far, Far Away in 2019!
