Robert Rodriguez Says Directing The Mandalorian Exceeded His Expectations

Nobody has directed more episodes of The Mandalorian than Dave Filoni’s three, with the decision to recruit a revolving door of guest filmmakers giving each one a distinct visual flavor. That doesn’t mean there haven’t been some repeats, though.

Season 1 alumni Bryce Dallas Howard and Rick Famuyiwa have both returned, with the latter presumably directing next week’s installment given that he’s also the credited writer. And while we still don’t know who’s helming the finale, whoever it is, they’ve got a tough task on their hands to try and top Taika Waititi’s “Redemption” from last year.

Of course, Jon Favreau and Carl Weathers both made their Mandalorian bows this season as well, but so far, most of the plaudits have been taken by Robert Rodriguez for his fantastic action-packed effort “The Tragedy.”

In a recent interview, the Troublemaker Studios head revealed that he was actually a last minute replacement after somebody else couldn’t make it, and it was his friendship with creator and showrunner Favreau that saw him drafted in to stage his Star Wars debut.

“I’m friends with Jon Favreau and he needed a last-minute replacement for a director. And so I said, ‘Sure, I’ll come play in the Star Wars universe’. What a dream. And it’s beyond my expectations, I mean, it was so fun, you can’t imagine what it’s like to walk on a set that has the classic look of The Empire Strikes Back feel and look. It’s right after that era, right after the Return of the Jedi. It’s that era. So you really feel like you just walked into your childhood. All of a sudden you go up and touch things and go, ‘That’s the thing that Han Solo talked into when he shot the machine and told the Stormtroopers not to come up’. I was like, ‘Wow, I thought I recognized that’. It’s just a really strange, exhilarating experience to be in your childhood sets for real. And getting to make action. It’s really cool. The visual language is so embedded in our heads. It was so fun.”

Based on the hugely enthusiastic reaction to last week’s episode from all corners, fans would more than eagerly welcome Rodriguez back with open arms, provided he’s able to fit another installment of the show into his schedule.

The 52 year-old is known for being one of the most multi-talented people in Hollywood, and throughout his career, he’s done it all on his own movies from sound designer and composer to visual effects supervisor and production designer. In fact, he’s so far ahead of the game that he wrapped an experimental sci-fi with John Malkovich five years ago that isn’t getting released until 2115, so he should be able to make time for another episode of The Mandalorian.