Ron Howard Had The Most Touching Response To Daughter Bryce's Work On The Mandalorian

The Howard family's connections to the "Star Wars" universe and George Lucas go back nearly 50 years. Ron Howard starred as Steve in Lucas' breakout 1973 coming-of-age dramedy "American Graffiti." As a director, Ron used Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic to create the special effects for several of his films, like 1985's "Cocoon" and 1988's "Willow." Most recently, Ron directed the 2018 standalone "Star Wars" film "Solo: A Star Wars Story." Currently, Ron serves as an executive producer at Industrial Light & Magic.

Then, there's Howard's daughter, Bryce Dallas Howard. So far, Bryce has directed three episodes of "Star Wars" television shows: "Sanctuary" and "The Heiress" on "The Mandalorian," and "Return of the Mandalorian" on "The Book of Boba Fett."

At Star Wars Celebration 2022 in Anaheim, which Looper attended, Ron Howard was asked what it was like to watch his daughter's first episode of "The Mandalorian." Here's what he said.

Ron Howard was asked the question during a press conference about "Light & Magic," Lawrence Kasdan's upcoming six-part documentary about George Lucas' special effects company.

"I was happy for her. Clearly it worked," Ron replied. "Her bosses were happy with her. I got a little wink and a nod from Jon Favreau in a text, 'Hey, she did great,' which made me feel good."

Ron went on to point out that Bryce has been honing her directing skills for quite some time.

"She's been directing for a while. When she was an acting major at NYU, she was already directing plays as well," he continued. "So I've known it was something she really wanted to do. I gotta say, she never surprises me when she succeeds. I felt comfortable with her getting into the business. At a certain point she was in high school and I could see her ambition for it was for the work, was for the process. She loves what's happening."

Before "The Mandalorian," Bryce mostly directed music videos and short films. However, her approach to filmmaking served her well. "She also loves the fact that ['The Mandalorian'] is a show that has ideas, but it really is trying to connect with the audience," Ron said. "There's a very clear-cut respect for that audience. And that gives her something to aim for that she likes."

The moderator wrapped up by suggesting that Bryce Dallas Howard might one day direct a "Star Wars" movie. Only time will tell if that happens, but her work on the television series is a strong start.