'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' Director Rian Johnson Wants To Direct An Episode Of 'The Mandalorian'

The first two seasons of The Mandalorian saw a variety of directors get behind the camera for the live-action Star Wars series, including executive producers Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau. But sometime in the future, The Mandalorian may have one of the Star Wars feature film directors step in to direct an episode, because Star Wars: The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson wants a crack at the series.

Reporter Sariah Wilson (via ComingSoon) recently caught up with director Rian Johnson for an upcoming story in USA Today, and she revealed that the filmmaker is very interested in taking the helm of an episode of The Mandalorian. In fact, she said Johnson "was dying to" direct an episode, but right now he's focused on getting Knives Out 2 off the ground. You can't blame him when Netflix is giving him hundreds of millions of dollars to make two sequels to his 2019 whodunnit mystery.

The good news is that this isn't just wishful thinking. Johnson confirmed that he's already spoken to Dave Filoni about directing The Mandalorian at some point. The director's desire to get in on the bounty hunting fun was solidified when he visited the set during production on the first season. Johnson said he "almost fell over" when he saw how the StageCraft virtual background known as The Volume worked, not just because the technology is amazing, but because it gives you vertigo when the set shifts while you're standing in the middle of it.

Having Rian Johnson direct at least one episode of The Mandalorian would be incredible. The Last Jedi haters be damned, Johnson knows how to make Star Wars exciting and refreshing. In fact, it might even be fun to have him direct an episode of The Book of Boba Fett. But since Knives Out 2 is still his priority and the series is meant to debut later this year, that probably won't happen. Perhaps Filoni could give him a shot at an episode of the upcoming Ahsoka series?

Executive producer Dave Filoni has hopped in the director's chair for The Mandalorian a few times, and Jon Favreau kicked off the second season by directing the premiere. Filmmakers like Bryce Dallas Howard, Deborah Chow, and Rick Famuyiwa have each directed a couple episodes, and blockbuster directors Taika Waititi, Peyton Reed, and Robert Rodriguez each got an episode. So let's hope Rian Johnson can join the roster whenever he's done with Knives Out 2.