Bryce Dallas Howard Compares Filming 'The Mandalorian' To Being On The Holodeck
Mixing Star Wars and Star Trek terminology may be a faux pas for most fans, but Bryce Dallas Howard has good reason to do it. The Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom actress is stepping behind the camera to helm an episode of Disney+'s highly-anticipated upcoming Star Wars series The Mandalorian, which uses groundbreaking technology pioneered by executive producer Jon Favreau. It's technology so out of this world that when Howard stepped onto The Mandalorian set, she was instantly reminded of a futuristic sci-fi series beginning with the word "Star." But don't worry Star Wars fans, her use of a familiar Star Trek term only makes The Mandalorian sound 100% cooler.
In an interview with Collider, Bryce Dallas Howard spoke about her experience as one of the many high-profile directors helming The Mandalorian. The actress has a couple shorts and TV directing credits to her name, but The Mandalorian is by far her biggest-budget project yet. But rather than being overwhelmed, Howard described her process as "awesome... I had incredible support from Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau. And the prep process, the shooting, the post-production, and all of that was so incredibly collaborative and fun and grounded. It was so cool."
Howard spoke about the envelope-pushing technology that Favreau brought to The Mandalorian set from his experience on The Jungle Book and The Lion King, two visually stunning films heavily reliant on CG. She compared the entire set to seeing a real-life Holodeck from Star Trek:
"Jon Favreau is known for pushing emerging technology forward. What he did with The Jungle Book, what he's doing now with The Lion King, it's really extraordinary what is possible because of these projects. There were so many times when I would be like, 'Oh, it's okay, Jon. We can just do it that way.' And he's like, 'I just want to see if it's possible.' And then it's tested, and way more times you find out, 'Oh, wow, it is possible, and it's better'. There was specifically something that we shot in what we called 'The Volume'. And basically you step into it and you can't tell that you are surrounded by LED screens and you feel like you're wherever the story is taking place. It's almost like – this is the wrong term to use, especially for this project – but it's almost like a Holodeck."
Howard's description of the technology used on The Mandalorian fits what we've previously heard about the series, and how the production blends practical and digital effects in a manner unlike any Star Wars property before.
In addition to Favreau, The Mandalorian is executive produced by Colin Wilson, Kathleen Kennedy,and Dave Filoni, and stars Pedro Pascal (Game Of Thrones) in the title role. The Mandalorian will debut when Disney+ launches on November 12, 2019.