Deborah Chowquietly became the first female person of color to direct a live-actionStar Warsseries episode with the most recent chapter of Disney+‘sThe Mandalorian. If you liked what you saw in “The Sin”, stay tuned. Chow has another episode in the pipeline for the series, which will undoubtedly shed more light on the title character and the hit sensation that isBaby Yoda. So while Chow–a veteran behind the camera for such TV shows asMr.Robot,Better Call Saul, andJessica Jones–has already made a big impression onStar Warsfans, she’ll get a new opportunity to make her mark as director of the plannedObi-Wan Kenobispinoff series starringEwan McGregor.
Lucasfilm PresidentKathleen Kennedypreviously released a statement as toChow coming aboard the project:
“We really wanted to select a director who is able to explore both the quiet determination and rich mystique of Obi-Wan in a way that folds seamlessly into theStar Warssaga. Based on her phenomenal work developing our characters inThe Mandalorian, I’m absolutely confident Deborah is the right director to tell this story.”
More recently, Chow spoke to theNY TimesaboutThe Mandalorian, Baby Yoda, and bringing her experience to bear on the untitled Obi-Wan story.
Here’s Chow’s response when asked if anything she learned onThe Mandalorianprepared her to take on the new spinoff series:
Absolutely. One of the biggest benefits is that I just spent the last year in the “Star Wars” universe and I had great mentors, coming in under Jon and Dave. Absorbing that, I feel, was the best training I could have had to take on the next one. So much of it just feeling it and understanding it, on an instinctual level, to know what’s right and what’s wrong with it. And there’s so much knowledge — every prop, every costume is important. Every detail really matters.
But don’t get your hopes up for seeing Baby Yoda transition to the new series:
[Laughs.] I can’t talk about Obi-Wan, but I don’t think the baby will be coming with us on that one. I think the baby steals the show.
