Everything we know about the Willow TV series
The TV adaptation of Ron Howard's fantasy classic hits Disney Plus this week. Here's what we know about the plot, characters, and production so far
TV Features Willow
Fans of 1980s fantasy fare are in line for a new dose of Willow when the Disney+ series starring Warwick Davis debuts November 30, continuing the story of Ron Howard’s classic film. It’s been almost 35 years since the film debuted its tale of an unlikely hero (Warwick Davis) setting off to save the world by protecting a prophesied child, and it feels like we’ve been talking about a sequel for almost as long.
Now that the show is almost here, we’re wondering where the story of Willow picks up, who it will follow, and what we can expect from this follow-up after three decades. But we already do know plenty about the series, including that Davis himself is back in the starring role, that it has a new ensemble cast (and fancy 2022 visual effects). Here’s everything we know about the show so far, from the cast to the story behind it.
Years in the making
Talk of a Willow follow-up has been circulating around the nerdier corners of the internet for a very long time now, with whispers of Lucasfilm hoping to pursue another film dating at least as far back as 2005. Warwick Davis, who starred in the original film after working with co-writer and producer George Lucas on classics like Return Of The Jedi and Labyrinth, has been talking about it for almost as long. In a Gizmodo interview from 2013, he mused about a sequel and the potential for Willow’s world with 21st-century visual effects applied to the story.
“I think it would be really interesting to explore the character when he’s older,” Davis said. “Has he become a better sorcerer? What’s going on with him? I think it could be really great because we’ve got the world established. Madmartigan, has he become a more sensible guy now, or is he still this warrior who is a bit of a loose cannon. We’ve established the world, we know the characters and now with the CG effects that we’ve achieved we can explore that world in even more detail and spectacle.”
Wishes for a Willow sequel eventually turned to proper development talks, and by the fall of 2020, the series had finally started to take shape under the leadership of writer Jonathan Kasdan, son of the legendary filmmaker Lawrence Kasdan (writer of Raiders Of The Lost Ark and The Empire Strikes Back, among other classics) and co-writer of Solo: A Story Wars Story. According to Kasdan, he’d been lobbying Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy to let him make a Willow sequel for quite some time when he met Willow (and Solo) director Ron Howard, who eventually joined the project as an executive producer. Now, we’re just weeks away from several more hours of Willow on Disney+.
Familiar faces
If you make a Willow sequel without Willow himself, is it really Willow? Probably not, so it’s good news for everyone that Davis—who has seemed eager to return to the character for years—is back in the title role for the Disney+ series. A couple of decades older and wiser, Willow Ufgood seems to have retreated to the relative seclusion of his woodland home, where he remains as the series begins. He also, at least as far as the trailers have shown us, seems to have fulfilled his desire to become a great sorcerer, walking around with a glowing staff and a magical flamethrower, among other things. Willow’s next chapter kicks off when a band of young adventurers (more on them in a minute) seek his help to attempt a daring rescue mission, which will put his magical gifts to the test all over again.
But Davis isn’t the only familiar face returning for the series. Joanne Whalley is also back as Sorsha, the daughter of the defeated evil Queen Bavmorda from the original film. Now a queen herself, she’s got a family and a kingdom to look after, and she’ll once again need Willow’s help to keep both safe. The show’s official trailer also revealed that Kevin Pollak and Rick Overton have also returned for the series as Willow’s Brownie friends, though how much they’ll be involved is anyone’s guess at this point.
Sadly, the other major player from the original film, Val Kilmer as the rakish mercenary Madmartigan, is not back for the series, but he is there in spirit. Creator Jonathan Kasdan noted that he’s had conversations with Kilmer about the character, and Madmartigan “lives on” as a “major figure in the story.”
New adventurers
Though Warwick Davis is still the title character, much of the action in the Willow series will revolve around a new cast of characters who embark on an adventure of their own, and seek Willow’s help along the way. The incoming cast of newcomers is led by Ruby Cruz as Kit, Queen Sorsha’s daughter, who heads out on a rescue mission after her brother (the trailers imply that role belongs to Dempsey Bryk) is abducted by dark forces. Joining her on this mission are her best friend and aspiring knight Jade (Solo’s Erin Kellyman), a thief and warrior trying to win his freedom (Amar Chadha-Patel), and a kitchen maid on a mission of her own (Ellie Bamber). Tony Revolori, of The Grand Budapest Hotel and Spider-Man: Homecoming fame, is also a member of the adventuring party, though his role hasn’t been revealed in detail just yet.
How each of these young actors will play into the larger story at work in Willow is still a mystery, as is much of the backstory leading up to the adventure which makes up the core narrative. However it all plays out, though, it all seems to hinge on one big question.
The big unanswered question
The original Willow centers on a baby, specifically Elora Danan, a prophesied princess who is fated to defeat evil and become the empress of the land, saving everyone from an age of darkness. Willow’s entire quest in the first film is to keep the child safe and prevent the evil Queen Bavmorda from completing a ritual that will put an end to the prophecy. Now it’s a couple of decades later in the world of the show, and Elora Danan is … where, exactly?
Based on what we know of the series so far, Elora has not grown up to become the prophesied empress, and the quest that kicks off the show is to rescue a kidnapped prince, not a princess or empress that could be Elora. So what happened to her, why isn’t she ruling, and what bearing does that have on the story ahead? According to creator Jonathan Kasdan, that’s the central question of the entire series. Here’s how he explained it to Collider:
“The show is really about that question and about answering it and how it affects the lives of all these different people and how that character and that savior sort of figures into the future history of the world, and that was what we were going to do, and that was what I pitched them from day one, you know. We get to see what that little girl grew up to become. And the question is, where does she fit into our story, and at what point?”
We’ll learn the answer to this question, and more, when Willow premieres on Disney+ on November 30.
Update 11/28: If you want to brush up on the original film before the new series premieres, you can catch Willow in select theaters tonight for one night only. The film will be followed by a Q&A and a sneak peek at the series.
Disney+ has also released a new clip from the series, showcasing some of the new cast in a riveting chase scene:
32 Comments
I guess Shadow Moon is going to be filed under Willow Legends or something, HUH??
For clarification: Shadow Moon & the other two were crap and I am not sad to see them ignored.
Those books are suffering! Chris Claremont owes me $24.
Elora Danan is living in Oklahoma and Staring in Reservation Dogs.
Probably not going to happen but what if it turned out that he was really an inventor, not a sorcerer, and all his magic is just illusions and technology?
Kind of my thought after looking at the pic of Willow with the “magical” flame thrower above. I’m sure that backpack has nothing at all to do with a fuel supply…
Yes yes yes! I sometimes think I’ve dreamed that show, as, despite the nostalgia soaked times we live in, I never see it streaming anywhere, nor does anyone ever seem to reference it. What a great, junky 8os show!
The original is available to stream on Disney+
Are we talking about the same thing -the 80s show The Wizard?!
Apparently we’re not. I misunderstood what show you were referring too. The original Willow is streaming on Disney+. The Wizard was an excellent show as well.
… and Warwick Davis wasn’t even in The Wizard … I’ve wasted everyone’s time …
Any science sufficiently advanced is intinguishable from magic – Arthur C. Clarke.
Kevin Pollak and Rick Overton have also returned for the series as Willow’s Brownie friends.BEST NEWS OF ALL!
Worst part of the movie. I love Willow, but it is a pretty character-for-character re-do of Star Wars, and the Brownie characters obviously are the attempted R2D2 and C3PO comic relief. But they serve little narrative purpose and are amazingly annoying, but particularly the accents. I hope their roles are minimal. Otherwise, really looking forward to this.
Are you serious? I think they’re hysterical.
They were basically analogues for kids to graft their selves onto with in the context of the movie… also comic relief
I thought they were hysterical as a kid, but I’m not sure it would hold up now that I’m in my 40s.
It’s possible that 40+ is not the target demographic, something I’ve had to come to terms with on a lot of things.More concerning is the gaggle of youngsters who will no doubt spend a significant amount of screen time brooding and making stupid decisions.
I could never figure out why they chose French Canadian accents for those, and borderline offensive caricatures at that… but y’know, Lucas gonna Lucas.
Well, it looks like Davis is a proper main character and he’s not just in the pilot for 10 minutes, and that was my main fear.
“Ron Howard’s Fantasy Classic”more “Ron Howard’s old movie”
Which is a fantasy classic.
Off-topic, but for the benefit of any non-English game show geeks out there – you may not be aware that Warwick Davis has been a staple on UK TV screens these past few years hosting a daytime quiz show:It’s called Tenable, loads of eps on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwRcyYxBnO0(this and Richard Osman’s House of Games – also on YouTube – were part of my daily routine while stuck at home during the second lockdown)
So bummed Val is in such bad shape and couldn’t really be a “robust” MM in this.
Yeah, he was such an important part of Willow. It’s hard to imagine the series without him, but at the same time, in his current condition he’d probably just make me feel sad.
I’d like to see him return as kind of a “King Conan” style figure. He wouldn’t be able to talk much (unless they do that Mark Hamill voice recreation stuff they did for the Mandalorian) but I think he’s in good enough spirits to be in some key scenes. Hopefully for season 2 if it happens..
Agreed. Madmartigan is the Han Solo of Sword ‘n Sorcery.
I haven’t seen Willow in a big, long minute but Warwick Davis looks not very aged. Or at least as old as I’d expect him to look. So, good for him!Also, I feel like quite the idiot. I kept thinking while watching Reservation Dogs that the name Elora Danan sounded so familiar…
It helps that Warwick Davis was only 18 when Willow (the film) was made. Reservation Dogs namechecks Willow a few times. Multiple characters bring up Elora Danan’s name and say “I love Willow” or something similar. Also the scrap yard that plays a key role in the show is called “Burglecutt’s” after Willow’s nemesis from his village.
Warwick just seems to love his life – that’s got to be great for the aging process.
WOW! I just might pay Disney+ a little extra this month…..
Wow, just watched this mess and really hated it and I’m a fan of the original film. What happened to the great production values and scripting we have seen in the Disney+ Marvel and Star Wars series. This is just cut-rate crap that looks like it was produced by the Australian/Kiwi folks that gave us Xena and other bargain basement fantasy shows in the 90’s. And the script is such check the box gynocentric 21st century pablum it’s embarrassing. Thanks to Kathleen Kennedy at Lucas Film, who should have been retired after the abomination that was the last trilogy, we are again treated to another girl power screed. As is the rule now at Disney, the weak, vain, womanizing prince has been kidnapped by villains ripped off directly from a Hellraiser movie and must be saved by strong 98 lb. women that can do everything and a 250 lb. man can while wielding giant swords. They are special women though as we’ve made a point that they are GLBT+ which I guess gives them all the powers of mere fallible and weak mortal men. I’m so disappointed and let down by this series as up to now Disney has given up quality productions and now, we are given this bargain basement dreck. So sad. At least Netflix has given us Wednesday that shows what a first-rate show runner can give us.