The Star Wars community and other fanbases have been mourning Carl Weathers since his passing almost a year ago. One part of what will be missed during the stages of the Mandoverse is his directing work. The late actor directed two episodes of The Mandalorian series which he starred on.
Weathers played the bounty hunter leader Greef Karga, who turned ally to the main character, Din Djarin, throughout the first three seasons. He also directed episodes of the series in the second and third seasons.
The second season episode that the late actor went behind the camera was the fourth episode of the season, "The Siege." He also co-starred in the episode as Karga. Weathers' direction was praised by fans and critics alike.
Laura Purdum of IGN commented on his direction, saying, " Weathers effortlessly evokes the iconography of the films here... None of it is particularly subtle, but it's deployed with enough adrenaline to make for an exhilarating ride"
Weathers' other Mandolarian episode that saw him looking through the lens was the season three episode, "The Foundling." It was also the fourth episode of the season. Unlike the previous episode he had directed, Weathers did not appear on screen, but his direction was also praised for this episode as well.
Weathers' direction in "The Foundling" led to one of the most memorable seasons in all of the series. It was a flashback for Grogu during Order 66, which saw his rescued by Jedi Master Kelleran Beq, played by Ahmed Best, reprising his role from the all-ages game show Jedi Temple Challenge. It was well done and an emotional moment for the character of Grogu.
Weathers told Hypebeast about the enjoyment he had as a director on the series for the third season premiered, saying, "I’ve fallen in love with directing. It allows me to provide my personality and artistic bent, there’s so much more opportunity to be creative because you’re really involved with the entire piece, working on every aspect of it."
It was not the first time that Weathers had directed. He directed several television episodes, including for shows such as Law and Order and Chicago Med. His first directing came in 1995 for the series, Renegade.
It's still sad and unfortunate that the Star Wars fandom lost such a talented and humble part of its universe. He creatively would've played a role in the upcoming film, and we can only hope that the creators pay homage to both his acting and directing in the movie.