Well, it turns out that making great content set in outer space runs in the family. Director Bryce Dallas Howard confirmed she included an homage to Apollo 13, the 1995 movie directed by her dad Ron Howard, in The Mandalorian Season 2, Episode 3 "The Heiress." The latest episode of The Mandalorian marks Howard's return to the director's chair on the Disney+ series. Previously, Howard directed the Season 1 episode "Sanctuary." [caption id="attachment_948826" align="alignright" width="360"] Image via Disney+[/caption] For her latest directorial outing, it looks like Howard wanted to take a clever creative leap …

Apollo 13 turned 25 this week, and it remains a movie I can watch anytime. It’s not because I’m incredibly into space mission stuff (it’s all well and good, but it’s not like I’ve ever watched For All Mankind or From the Earth to the Moon), but because it’s a movie that’s all about solving problems, which is unusual for most narratives. Traditional narratives thrive on conflict, especially interpersonal conflict. Apollo 13 has one big problem—how to get astronauts Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks), Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon), and Fred Haise (Bill Paxton) …