Mandalorian Director Discusses The Future Of Star Wars Storytelling

Rick Famuyiwa, director of 3 episodes of The Mandalorian, discusses the future of Star Wars storytelling in a recent interview. In addition to his time spent directing the debut Star Wars live-action show, Famuyiwa joined a very small team of Mandalorian writers with his work on “Chapter 15: The Believer.” He also developed the story for “Chapter 6: The Prisoner” alongside Christopher Yost, where he even got to appear as an X-wing pilot alongside fellow directors Deborah Chow and Dave Filoni.

“Chapter 2: The Child” was the first episode viewers saw directed by Famuyiwa. The episode revealed Grogu’s, a.k.a. Baby Yoda, Force abilities and deepened the connection between him and Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal). Famuyiwa’s direction was able to establish the emotional moments necessary to pull it off, despite the fact no human faces were shown the entire episode. His work on the sixth episode of the series was much different in a thrilling way as he took viewers through a heist-like adventure that showed how Din’s character has changed since he last partnered up with his old gang. Famuyiwa returned to season 2 and delivered one of the most monumental moments in the series yet: Din breaking his Creed to save Grogu. His episode, the perfect balance of action and drama, set up for one of the most highly anticipated series finales yet.

Now, Famuyiwa has shared his thoughts on the future of Star Wars storytelling and how involved he wishes to be. The interview, which highlighted Famuyiwa’s experiences as a Black filmmaker and storyteller on Star Wars’ official website, concluded with a question about his personal hope for how he’s impacted the Star Wars galaxy thus far with his work on The Mandalorian. Famuyiwa shared the uniqueness of the various perspectives Mandalorian viewers get from the diverse team of filmmakers who have come together to work on the show as well as how they create new and exciting elements while tying all their different perspectives together to make one cohesive and impactful story. He discusses how important it is to maintain this amongst a constantly growing and changing global audience as well as his eagerness to continue being a part of it. Read more of what he had to say below:

So I think the future of Star Wars is continuing to sort of open up those doors and continue to tell these stories from a point of view, because that’s not what we’ve seen before. I want to continue to be a part of that storytelling […] You have to be where the people are. And the people right now are a global community that has perspectives that are varied, but at the same time, a kind of universal thing binding everything together. And honestly, that’s what the Force is. That’s what the galaxy of Star Wars has always been about, represented through different alien species and droids and disparate sort of lands that both look familiar and not. But all of it was sort of shaped by one universal thing.

Famuyiwa hasn’t been confirmed to be directing in the upcoming season 3 of The Mandalorian, but seeing as only Carl Weathers is the only confirmed director, there’s reason to believe Famuyiwa will be returning to the series as well. His work on the show has resonated well with the audience and would be just as welcome in any future Star Wars project, whether it be the upcoming Andor series, one of the untitled Star Wars film projects, or any other future Star Wars series. Famuyiwa has proved with his work that he can shine a light on issues of morality like those discussed by Migs Mayfeld (Bill Burr) and Valin Hess (Richard Brake) in “Chapter 15: The Believer” while also delivering on epic action such as Din’s fight against the Morak pirates. The versatility of his storytelling fits well into the constantly growing Star Wars galaxy.

The audience has seen a variety of projects from many different creators in the Star Wars universe thus far, but the massive success of The Mandalorian proves how important Famuyiwa’s thoughts on the future of the franchise are. The more there are different perspectives included in the creation behind these stories, the more the audience will be able to connect to them in very personal and unique ways. Star Wars at its core has always been about the way people can connect with others despite their differences. With all the new Disney+ Star Wars shows and untitled film projects to come, the franchise has many opportunities to expand upon the ideas shared by Famuyiwa and create stories just as impactful as The Mandalorian.