In recent months, Star Wars fans have gotten the opportunity to know the directing team behind The Mandalorian's first season pretty well. The directors have all spoken at length during various interviews and press conferences, and the Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian documentary has provided a unique roundtable opportunity for us to learn about each team members' processes and contributions.
Each of Season 1's directors will continue to have a role in the Star Wars universe in some fashion, with some of the team moving on to new projects and the rest returning to The Mandalorian for the second season. This year's May the 4th festivities saw the announcement of several new directors joining the series, and a new announcement has confirmed the second unit director for the upcoming season...
CONFIRMATION
During an exclusive interview with Collider, Sam Hargrave revealed that he worked as a second unit director for The Mandalorian Season 2. Hargrave, who most recently directed the Netflix original film Extraction, was tasked with working on the upcoming season's action sequences:
I was in the middle of post [-production on Extraction] and I’m editing my movie and I got a call from my buddy Colin Wilson, one of the line producers, who said, ‘Jon [Favreau] and the people over here are looking for someone to bring into the team or add to the family who has experience with action.’
Hargrave added that The Mandalorian team was looking to elevate the show's action sequences to a higher level:
The team that was there did a great job in the first season and it was just all fun. But they wanted to build on that and bring a new perspective and take it to another level for the next season. So, I was like, ‘That sounds like a fun challenge.'
WHAT THIS MEANS
The first season of The Mandalorian was already rich with exciting action sequences, so the addition of Hargrave to the production team indicates that things really are being ramped up for Mando's sophomore season. Hargrave leaned heavily into action in Extraction and he also served as a stunt coordinator for many Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, which should leave fans with high expectations for the work he's done for Star Wars.
With his introduction to the series down, there's always the chance that Hargraves could serve as a director for an episode of Season 3 as well. Things are going to be getting even more physical for Mando in the coming season, it seems, and that could certainly continue for the remainder of the show as well.
