The Evolution of Bryce Dallas Howard in Star Wars

If you aren’t familiar yet with the work of budding director Bryce Dallas Howard in the Star Wars mythos, it’s about time that you familiarize yourself with it. Following in the footsteps of her legendary director-father Ron Howard, Bryce has added directing to her already well-known acting resume. To say that she is doing well would be a complete understatement. Let’s take a look at what she’s done so far for the Star Wars Universe.

The Mandalorian: Santuary

Her first crack at Star Wars was in Episode 4 of ‘The Mandalorian’ entitled ‘Sanctuary’. Here we see Mando (Pedro Pascal) combine forces with Cara Dune (Gina Carano) to save a small village from a group of raiders reinforced by the presence of an AT-ST (All Terrain Scout Transport). Of course, the AT-ST was modified by the raiders, but that still meant that Mando would have his hands full trying to save the village with this overpowering advantage. Here, Bryce was given the responsibility of introducing one of the best characters of the series in Cara Dune. At this point, ‘The Mandalorian’ was still growing its fandom as a space western. ‘Sanctuary’ did show Bryce Dallas Howard as more than capable of providing the background of Cara Dune, and adding to the already vast Star Wars bevy of characters.

The Mandalorian: The Heiress

With one episode under her belt, Bryce Dallas Howard proceeded with an even bigger episode in ‘The Mandalorian’. Episode 11 entitled, ‘The Heiress’ not only did she get to introduce Bo-Katan Kryze to her live action debut, bu she also gets to incorporate actress Katee Sackhoff into the Star Wars stable of actors. For those who aren’t familiar with Bo-Katan (seriously, why aren’t you?), she is the fan favorite animated characte that first appeared in ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’. As for Katee Sackhoff, people who are fans of the rebooted sci-fi series ‘Batllestar Galactica’ in the early 2000s will recognize that name. Katee is science fiction royalty now with Bo-Katan under her belt of acting roles aside from Starbuck from ‘Battlestar Galactica’. This was one of the best episodes of season two of ‘The Mandalorian’, and she has shown that she is very much capable of grander storytelling.

The Book of Boba Fett: Return of the Mandalorian

So, when ‘The Book of Boba Fett’ was announced over a year ago with Bryce Dallas Howard being identified as one of the directors for the series, I wasn’t surprised, and was expecting great things from her. She didn’t disappoint. ‘Return of the Mandalorian’ directed by Bryce Dallas Howard is the best episode in ‘The Book of Boba Fett’ to date. She masterfully incorporates elements of previous lore with newer elements which effectively draws in more people to this already massive Star Wars fandom. She truly is following the lead of forerunners Jon Favreau, and Dave Filioni. And what is that exactly? Geeking out with past lore to creat even geekier lore to the delight of many Star Wars fans.

In her own little trilogy (see what I did there?), Bryce has shown that she understands fully what it takes to handle a Star Wars property. She didn’t have to throw away all that came before to create something new. She used the longtime lore as a foundation to build something truly great: stories that welcome fans of any generation with utmost respect of what came before.

There was a time when some creators would argue that you can’t please past and new fans of Star Wars. That it was time to move on from the old. Bryce Dallas Howard has followed in the footsteps of Favreau, and Filioni in disproving that assertion. You CAN create something new WITH the old. More power to you, Bryce. Here’s hoping you can create your own Star Wars movie or your own Star Wars series someday. This is they way.

Foundation Season One Sets in Motion Psychohistory

Psychohistory. The Genetic Dynasty. The Robot Wars. These are concepts long inscribed in the annals of Isaac Asimov’s written work. The Foundation series, and its related books spans millenia of intergalactic lore. Now, courtesy of our friends from Apple TV, we are able to enjoy a cerebral adaptation of this highly anticipated science fiction series. To my mind, ‘Foundation’ does the story justice for your viewing pleasure.

I’ll emphasize this here: we are lucky to live in a time where we can watch both ‘Foundation’ and ‘Dune’ in the same year. I’m more of a fantasy story viewer, but science fiction is also one of those writing genres close to my heart. In the 21st Century, we have been blessed more with a lot more fantasy properties than science fiction. It puts a smile on my face that ‘Foundation’ has brought us an excellent adaptation of Asimov’s work, and shows us what can be done if science fiction writings are adapted properly.

‘Foundation’ is told through the recollections of Gaal Dornick, one of the main characters of the story. As narrator, Gaal guides us through the world of the Cleonic Empire, and the outer reaches. The story centers around the threat of the Empire crumbling as predicted by psychohiistory. The concept of psychohistory was coined by another main character in the story,, Hari Seldon.

Hari makes a bold prediction of the collapse of the current Cleonic Empire. This sets a chain of events that lead to his banishment along with Gaal and the rest of his followers to set up a foundation on the outer reach world of Terminus. Here in exile, Hari’s foundation will do its work far from the influence of the Empire, and yet just within peeking sight.

On Terminus, Salvor Hardin is born. She serves as the warden/guardian of the Foundation colony on Terminus, and has her own special gifts. The mystery behind her powers serves as an integral part of the series storytelling, and the success of the Foundation itself. Without her, the connection between past, present, and future of the Foundation would be disjointed. Though there is more mystery to her than her powers, and ‘Foundation’ reveals these in turn throughout season one.

There’s a lot to be said about the high-end math equations and interpretations found in the book series. These might tend to turn away viewers who are just not into that sort of detail. Though ‘Foundation’ is still based on the core concept of psychohistory which is based on mathematical principles, it does not carry the brunt of the storytelling. Instead, the series focuses on the effects of psychohistory, and how it affects the lives of the individuals intertwined in it. This approach makes ‘Foundation’ more palatable to a larger audience.

I can understand this approach to the storytelling. I’m a longtime role-playing game enthusiast, and I’ve been through the different editions of Dungeons and Dragons. The early editions of the classic RPG was very detailed to a fault that it had a tendency to alienate people from it except the most inanely geeky (not derogatory) player. The latest edition made the game more accessible to players with its streamlined rules. Though, its success might be also attributed in no small part to that upside down series.

In any case, the similarity in approach to the ‘Foundation’ series has made it a brilliant combination of science fiction, philosophy, and history. The math is still there, but only as relish to the overall main course that is ‘Foundation’. And, that manner of storytelling has ensured a better visual representation of the story’s psychohistory.

If you’re looking for a great science fiction series, try ‘Foundation’ out. The story is paced well, and is not bogged down by too much exptrapolation nor mindless action. Enjoy the trip through psychohistory with this masterfully plotted series.