Time has passed since the Skywalker Saga came to a close, but Star Wars isn’t slowing down for a second. Aside from upcoming releases like The Bad Batch and The Book of Boba Fett, Lucasfilm is developing eight other series, ranging from an anime-inspired anthology to a Sith Academy prequel.
But the most beloved Star Wars television series is, and probably will remain, The Mandalorian. With its classic Western episodic action and genre-jumping plotlines, these episodes have been a draw for all sorts of directors, from Taika Waititi to Bryce Dallas Howard to Carl Weathers.
But one name could be added to the list in Season 3 — a name that could ruffle some feathers.
The News — Writer Sariah Wilson has been slowly tweeting information from a conversation she had with The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson. Over the course of months, she’s revealed if he’s excited for upcoming series, how he developed his ideas and the fact he has his own personal animatronic porg. However, her most recent leak sheds some light on his future plans.
On April 17, she revealed Johnson had visited The Mandalorian set during the filming of Season 1 and was eager to direct an episode. The only thing standing in his way is his crowded filming schedule, but he had spoken to Dave Filoni about possibly directing an upcoming episode.
Return of The Last Jedi? — The prospect of Johnson’s return is incredibly exciting, but there are some major logistical issues. Johnson recently signed a huge deal with Netflix ensuring the release of two sequels to his quirky detective movie Knives Out. He’s currently writing Knives Out 2, and production will start soon after. It’s hard to fit an episode of The Mandalorian in with all that work.
However, if The Mandalorian continues with the same success as it has for the past two seasons, the timing may just work out for a future Rian Johnson episode. Though his direction of The Last Jedi caused some controversy among fans, perhaps a smaller scale project like an episode of television will be enough to mend that division.
Rian Johnson previously directed “Fly,” one of the best “bottle episodes” ever.
The Inverse Analysis — Johnson isn’t a stranger to television directing, either. He directed three episodes of the hit series Breaking Bad, two of which, “Ozymandias” and “Fly,” are often hailed to be not only the best episodes of the series, but some of the greatest episodes in modern TV history. Could an upcoming episode of The Mandalorian join those ranks?
Sure, Rian Johnson may not be the most universally beloved figure in the Star Wars community. But pairing his ingenious directing eye with the encyclopedic knowledge of Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau could be the key to the ultimate Star Wars story, even if it’s only about a half hour long.
The Mandalorian is now streaming on Disney+.
