Bryce Dallas Howard on the Declining Statistics for Female Directors in Hollywood: ‘Whatever Is Currently Being Done is Not Enough’

Bryce Dallas Howard is calling on Hollywood to make a change. While at Variety’s L.A. Power of Women event on Wednesday in Beverly Hills, the actress and filmmaker reflected on the declining statistics for women directors in Hollywood. A 2025 study described the year as a “Great Recession” for female filmmakers, with just nine women directing the 100 top-grossing films at the U.S. box office. That figure corresponds to just 8.1% of female directors (or a ratio of 11.3 men for every woman). In 2024, women accounted for 13.4% of directors of the 100 top-grossing films. “The facts are that the numbers are an indication of something real,” Howard told Variety senior entertainment writer Angelique Jackson. “Whatever is currently being done is not enough.” Howard speaks from experience: she has directed several episodes of the Star Wars shows “Ahsoka,” “The Mandalorian,” “The Book of Boba Fett” and “The Skeleton Crew,” as well as the feature-length documentaries 2019’s “Dads” and 2025’s “Pets.” In 2021, Howard was announced to direct a reboot of Disney’s “Flight of the Navigator,” but the project is still billed as being in pre-production. Throughout the industry, Howard has seen a focus on mentorship for female filmmakers, but what Hollywood must prioritize more of, she explained, is sponsorship. “It’s really difficult to get paid to do the thing that you want to do in this business,” Howard said. “And the amount of time between jobs is so significant that, unless you come from privilege or you have another job that somehow allows you to be flexible, you’re not getting a shot. You’re not even getting a chance, and that has to change.” Sponsorship is greater than just funding a movie, Howard noted. Companies need to step up to finance the research and development throughout the project — ranging from early workshops to cultivating a team of artists to bring the film to life. “There are so many brilliant artists and so little support, and it is incumbent upon people like me to make that a reality,” she said. “And I constantly fall short. And I will not quit.” Next up, Howard directed two episodes of “Ahsoka” Season 2, and said that working on the Star Wars show, starring Rosario Dawson, was one of the “best summers of [her] life.” “The first season was so fantastic, and to build on that, [creator and Lucasfilm president Dave Filoni] is getting to do a lot of stuff that he’s been waiting decades to do,” Howard said about the action-packed episodes. “Rosario and him are just partners. He trusts himself, but he trusts Rosario just as much.” See Howard’s full interview in the video above.