Bryce Dallas Howard has quickly become one of the most beloved Star Wars directors in recent years. Her work throughout The Mandalorian has been praised, and her episode on The Book of Boba Fett is one of the highest-rated of the series on IMDb. Her latest addition with Skeleton Crew was groundbreaking, resonating with fans. She sat down with Lucasfilm's Paige Lyman to discuss what it was like working with the young actors and her inspiration for episode 6, "Zero Friends Again."
Howard said, "There’s kind of two elements that were very exciting to me about this episode. One was the notion of a breakup in female friendship, young female friendship in particular, between Kyriana Kratter’s KB and Ryan Kiera Armstrong’s Fern. That’s very specific and something I and most people have experienced.”
These kinds of stories are Howard's strengths, something we see throughout her Star Wars work. Her episodes tend to be highly emotional, focusing on the character's emotions rather than the plot. That's not to say there isn't narrative at all, quite the opposite. Howard understands the basic idea in a story that character development is plot.
For example with Skeleton Crew, Wim's story moved forward in "Zero Friends Again." He wanted so badly to be a heroic Jedi, kicking in doors, and having these massive adventures that people would write great stories about. However, his hero moment was small and quiet. It was connecting with KB who was having a medical emergency, listening to her directions, and saving her life. He realized that was his hero moment, saving one person in the most Jedi way possible. Howard's direction brought that out.
The other part of her episode was Jude Law's excellent performance, where she praised him as an actor, saying, "Jude Law gives an incredible speech in this episode, and it was such a joy to film that. He is such a masterful, thoughtful, and dynamic actor. Jude was amazing at engaging with everyone who was listening and finding all these little moments and really allowing it to feel alive.”
What makes a great director is one willing to grow, and that includes learning from the youngest people on set. Howard revealed that the child protagonist helped her in her craft, sharing, "I got to share the pre-vis with them, which was really, really helpful and eye opening because they were able to see how I was imagining the scene. And I could learn from them… Everyone is invested in making sure that these kids feel as prepared, safe, and comfortable as possible. And so that’s something that was very, very helpful. Getting to have rehearsal time with the kids, getting to work with them closely. I like to truly partner with the actors I’m working with.”
One sentiment I've seen growing online over the last few years in is that it's time to give Bryce Dallas Howard her own Star Wars movie. She's proven over the course of three shows that she gets it. As she mentions in the interview with Lucasfilm, she grew up watching her father Ron Howard and George Lucas working on set. This person understand Star Wars, and it's time to let her have freedom on a full feature length film.
You can see her entire interview over on the Lucasfilm website, where she talks about her influences growing up as well as her work on other Star Wars series.