The Mandalorian: James Mangold has spoken, and nope he won’t direct on Season 2

Despite rumors circulating that James Mangold could possibly direct part of the second season of The Mandalorian, the Logan director has officially put such speculation to rest — in one of the most delightful ways possible. 

You see, one person inadvertently jacking up the chatter was Solo director Ron Howard, whose daughter Bryce Dallas Howard was among the roster of directors for Season 1 and is set to return for the Disney+ series’ sophomore season. 

“The Mandalorian Season 2: James Mangold, Robert Rodriguez to Direct Parts, Bryce Dallas Howard to Return – IGN,” Howard tweeted — too soon, it seems, since Mangold then had to set the record straight.

“Hey Ron. I'm so pleased if it's true about Bryce directing another part of Mandalorian, but I can tell you its not true about me,” Mangold replied via the social media site, clarifying: “Not doing it, never discussed it.”

Oops! 

Well, Howard’s response was just as entertaining.

“Hey James. Apologies,” Howard wrote. “I saw my daughter’s name, went into stage-dad mode and retweeted w/out even reading. Dumb.  This is why @BryceDHoward never tells me anything. But I loved #FordVFerrari &  I’m looking forward to the Christmas Special!”

Anyway, there was no harm, no foul on Mangold’s end: He just felt he needed to set the record straight to manage fan expectations. 

“I knew you were being a proud Pappa, Ron! All good!” Mangold tweeted. “But you have a lot of followers and my timeline was going crazy so i felt like i should says something. At minimum to protect the integrity of my Xmas special...”

Wait. What’s this Christmas special of which these two speak? It’s actually a response to a tweet from the peanut gallery amidst the exchange. And by “peanut gallery,” we of course mean none other than Thor: Ragnarok and The Mandalorian director Taika Waititi, (he also does the voice for IG-11), who simply had to chime in…

“Don't lie, James. Be proud of your Mangoldorian Christmas Special.” Well played, sir. Well played. 

So, there you have it. Despite some murmurings suggesting otherwise, Mangold will not be among those directing for Season 2. Ah, well. There’s still always Indiana Jones 5 to look forward to.

The second season of The Further Adventures of Baby Yoda The Mandalorian premieres this October on Disney+.