For many Disney+ subscribers, the main reason to snatch up an immediate subscription was the debut of Star Wars' first live-action TV show, The Mandalorian. Its ten-episode first season is, for the most part, an enjoyable action-adventure featuring one of the cutest side characters in all of fiction. (I meant Baby Yoda, but Cara and Greef are treats themselves.) So understandably, fans are desperate to hear what's happening with Season 2, which went into production last fall. Thankfully, a recent update has us extremely excited about what's allegedly happening behind the scenes.
As fans are aware, The Mandalorian had a wealth of talent behind the camera for Season 1, and it doesn't sound like they're pulling back the reins with Season 2. If reports from the web series Black Series Rebels can be believed, the new season welcomed Alita: Battle Angel and Sin City director Robert Rodriguez, as well as Logan and Ford v Ferrari helmer James Mangold to the crew. Perhaps not in the most complete fashion, though, since it doesn't sound like either of them actually directed an entire episode (yet).
Interestingly enough, the report notes that several other directors stepped in to film other specific sequences for episodes, though none of those names are listed. It is known that showrunner and creator Jon Favreau has expressed interest in helming a Season 2 ep, since a lot of his time in Season 1 was spent making sure the massive production and innovative technology were going smoothly.
Additionally, The Mandalorian apparently roped the Jurassic World franchise's Bryce Dallas Howard to direct another episode. She'd previously put together the Season 1 installment, "Sanctuary," so it's going to be interesting to see what she tries next. As well, executive producer Dave Filoni is set to handle at least one episode, after having directed the Season 1 premiere and the fifth ep, "The Gunslinger."
Now let's take a step back to reflect on the potential addition of two top-notch genre filmmakers for The Mandalorian Season 2. For one, it would make a ton of sense for Robert Rodriguez to get involved here. No so much because he's essential to the Star Wars universe, but because he has a brilliant mind and is known for keeping budgets low and for using experimental filmmaking techniques. I can imagine he'd be excited to work with the virtual environments that Jon Favreau and ILM have put together.
Even though Robert Rodriguez apparently didn't direct an entire episode, that's no reason to feel actual disappointment here. From the Sin City flicks to Grindhouse: Planet Terror to From Dusk Till Dawn (and even the Spy Kids movies), Rodriguez's movies always feature truly original visuals and a handful of eye-popping sequences, regardless of the quality of the overall movie. He's not exactly known for his sci-fi efforts, but Alita has developed a hardcore fanbase, and even The Faculty has aged better than similar fare from the late '90s.
Meanwhile, James Mangold has no shortage of excitement happening in his life. The director's highly celebrated Ford v Ferrari recently took home a pair of Oscars, and his previous effort Logan turned comic book fare into legitimate non-bombastic cinema. He was tapped to take on a Romeo & Juliet-adjacent drama Juliet, and very recently became the rumored go-to director for the upcoming Indiana Jones sequel after it was confirmed that Steven Spielberg had vacated the duty.
Given Indy's George Lucas connection, Mangold's inclusion for The Mandalorian would also make proper enough sense for Season 2. And if not that, then Mangold's
So could The Mandalorian have some kind of an anthology episode coming to Season 2 that allows for multiple directors to be used? Or would Robert Rodriguez, James Mangold and others simply be spread across various episodes throughout the season? I supposed I'll have to wait and make sure this news gets confirmed before getting too grand with my predictions.
You can check out the original video below, with the Mandalorian chat starting around 35:30.
With another recent rumor claiming a WWE star joined the show in some capacity, The Mandalorian Season 1 is currently available to stream on Disney+, with Season 2 hitting the streaming service at some point in October 2020.
