Directed by Ron Howard. Based on a story by George Lucas. Starring a post-Top Gun Val Kilmer. Released in 1988, epic fantasy Willow… “wasn't a huge hit in movie theatres, I'll be honest,” says Warwick Davis. Yet it did conjure up its share of mega-fans – including film/TV maker Jonathan Kasdan (Dawson's Creek, Solo: A Star Wars Story), who is now showrunner on Willow, a new eight-part sequel series debuting on Disney+ in November. Howard is on board as executive producer, while Davis reprises his lead role as farmer-slash-sorcerer Willow Ufgood, heading up a diverse cast that includes other legacy players (Joanne Whalley, Kevin Pollack, maybe more…) and a host of newbies. Kasdan and his cast guide TF on a grand quest that takes in swords, sorcery, Covid and… The Breakfast Club?
UFGOOD LONG WAIT
WARWICK DAVIS (WILLOW UFGOOD): How many times have I been asked about a Willow sequel over the years? It's got to be in the hundreds. Every day someone will recognise me and say, “Why hasn't there been another one?”
JONATHAN KASDAN (SHOWRUNNER/ CO-WRITER): I'll be frank, the show came together in two troubling moments [during Solo: A Star Wars Story]. We were behind schedule in the Canary Islands when I first met Warwick and told him, “I'm going to ask Kathy [] to let me make a sequel to .” And he sort of lit up a little. And then I was like “Oh shit, now I've really got to make this happen!” []
