Once upon a time—in 1988—there was a fantasy film called Willow. It was neither a total blockbuster (it did fine) nor critically adored, but it was made by George Lucas (who provided the story) and Ron Howard (who directed) and Bob Dolman (who wrote the screenplay, but does not have the name recognition of the first two).
Willow is about a baby who might grow up to defeat a sorceress; the sorceress’s daughter; a mercenary; and Willow Ufgood, played by Warwick Davis, who finds the magic baby. If you are of a certain age, you probably have very fond memories of the film. And that’s exactly what Disney+ is banking on with Willow, the series sequel to Willow, still starring Davis as Willow.
Joanne Whalley, who played Sorsha, is also back for the series, but the cast is full of fresh new faces. New characters include Kit (Ruby Cruz), Graydon (Tony Revolori), Boorman (Amar Chadha-Patel), Dove (Ellie Bamber), and Jade, played by Erin Kellyman, who is on her third Disney franchise. Hopefully this show will give her more to do than Solo, and make better use of her talent than her muddled role in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
The trailer doesn’t offer much, except that Willow is needed once again, things are out of balance, and a lot of running and fighting and danger and maybe some smooching will be necessary to correct this. Everything has that same very-tidy fantasy look as Wheel of Time, which is at least preferable to the very dark fantasy look of Game of Thrones.
The series takes place years after the film, and Willow seems to have practiced his magic quite a bit. Jonathan Kasdan, who wrote Solo, wrote the pilot, and co-showruns the series with Wendy Mericle (Arrow). Ron Howard and Bob Dolman are among the producers.
Can the old ’80s fantasy magic strike again? Do we need more Willow? You have a while to decide: The series premieres November 30th on Disney+.
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I always found Willow to be kind of a by-the-numbers fantasy premise, just taking familiar tropes and dressing them up with cutting-edge production values, which pretty much sums up George Lucas’s entire filmography. Still, it was reasonably entertaining and I liked Warwick Davis in the role. Joanne Whalley was stunningly lovely in the film, and it was kind of a sweet story that she and Val Kilmer actually fell in love during the production (IIRC) and got married afterward. And it did have cutting-edge effects; it was the first film to use the digital effect we now call morphing, so early that they hadn’t even coined that name for it yet — at the time, it was called “splining,” after the mathematical principle behind the effect.
As for the series, I’m just glad that they’re finally giving Davis top billing, instead of the third billing he got in the movie despite being the lead and title character. Although I guess that was because Willow was his first non-creature movie role, after playing Wicket in Star Wars and a goblin in Labyrinth. Sort of like Christopher Reeve getting third billing in Superman behind Hackman and Brando.
@1: just taking familiar tropes Oh yes — the group I went with sat there counting the number of points lifted (tossed in?) from from other stories, mostly ancient; it was as if the team thought that pulling in enough pieces would amount to a story. I’ll wait to hear more about whether this is a rehash or worth following.
There was a sequel novel to the first Willow movie, I wonder if the new movie is based on that. I read it more than 20 years ago and don’t remember much of the plot, only that Willow had to save the grown-up baby from the first movie, who was in danger of becoming evil herself.
@3 MBrent – I have read that (trilogy) and it was decent fantasy — but it wasn’t Willow. And since Chris Claremont (of X-Men comics fame) killed off every character except Willow and Elora by the second chapter, I’ma gonna say not much related.
I’m all for it. I could use some more whimsy in my fantasy shows after all the Game of Thrones and Witcher I’ve watched (both of which I enjoyed, but whimsy is definitely not what they were going for). Of course late this summer we’ve got House of the Dragon and The Rings of Power going up against one another, so it’s probably best that Willow stays out of the fray unti November.
That looks…. inexpensive. Like a budget Shanarra.
It’s good to see Master Ufgood hale & well – not to mention good to see some other old friends still going strong – but we can tell very little else from this trailer; hopefully future previews will be more forthcoming! (Also, one can only pity the composer stepping in for the late, outstanding Mr James Horner … ).
I like the implications of “the universe seeks balance.” You can’t guarantee that the rebalancing will be in your favor. And Warwick Davis is always good.
(Ob. Star Wars: Anakin, the Chosen One, did indeed bring balance to the Force. There were effectively equal numbers of Jedi and Sith for a while there…)
I can’t recall how many times I watched Willow on VHS in the late 80’s/early 90’s. It was close to inevitable they’d try to “reboot” it now. They could do a lot worse for source material. Yeah, it’s generic, but it hails from a pre-Jackson LOTR decade, where big budget examples of the aesthetic were pretty rare, and usually commercial and critical failures. While Willow wasn’t great by any means, it has a certain homely charm. I wish the reboot well. I wouldn’t even be tempted to watch it, however, unless Val Kilmer was in it.
While I’m here: “…Willow is needed again, things are out of balance, and a lot of running and danger and fighting and maybe some smooching will be necessary to correct this.” This was the second-best line I’ve ever read on Tor.com.
@9/Skallagrimsen: “I wouldn’t even be tempted to watch it, however, unless Val Kilmer was in it.”
I read a quote from one of the producers implying that Kilmer might appear in season 2, and that the story in season 1 will have some connection to Madmartigan in an unspecified way.
@10, ChristopherLBennett, That’s interesting, I’d already assumed he’d been invited to participate and blown it off as beneath him.
@10 / CLB:
Right, Jonathan Kasdan’s discussed Kilmer’s ties to the show:
“He’s a huge part of this story and this series. Val has been in communication with Joann [Whalley] and I and Madmartigan is a character in the story and what we didn’t get to shoot with him on Season 1, we’ve made him a major figure in the story.”
@11 / Skallagrimsen:
Kasdan’s interview above also confirms the COVID-19 lock-downs factored into trying (and failing) to get Kilmer out to Wales during shooting.
And don’t forget the other big factor with Kilmer: His brush with Throat Cancer. Even if he had been available, they would’ve had to work/write around his post-cancer health issues (much in the same way Top Gun: Maverick had to with Iceman’s presence/legacy).
@7:
Also, one can only pity the composer stepping in for the late, outstanding Mr James Horner …
Actually, it’s been confirmed James Newton Howard’s composing the series.
I wish James Horner was still with us, but Howard’s a great choice for his successor. The score will be in good hands and I’m not worried.
If anything, I’m pleased by the included snippet’s of Horner’s theme in the Trailer. Can’t wait to hear Howard’s take on the Willow leitmotifs.
I saw Willow in the theater when I was 9 so I imagine I was the target demographic. And I do recall really being fond of it. However, it’s also something I kind of forgot about it because it never became huge in pop culture and there was no sequel. I don’t think I’ve even seen the movie again since that initial viewing in the theater or at least decades since it was first on cable. I’d love to rewatch it though. I remember Val Kilmer being an engaging Han Solo-rogue type, and Joanne Whalley being lovely, and it was very progressive of the time (and still to this day) to have a dwarf main lead. Also, hearing a snippet of James Howard’s score makes me remember the film had an excellent score as well.
@14/garreth: “it was very progressive of the time (and still to this day) to have a dwarf main lead.”
It was, though it wasn’t unique. Two years earlier, there was a TV series called The Wizard starring Time Bandits‘ David Rappaport as the title character, a genius inventor who’d renounced designing weapons and gone into toymaking, and who, since this was 1980s television, naturally used that skill set to fight crime in partnership with a federal agent. I liked it, but it only lasted 19 episodes.
Speaking of Val Kilmer, I kinda hope that they end up having his son Jack in it someway.
Apparently Val Kilmer can’t even speak anymore without an assistive device nor eat, which is really tragic.
@6 LadyBelaine: Well, Shannara was ALREADY low budget (at least the first season was; haven’t bothered with the second), so that’s one scary proposition…
Oh, man, I didn’t realize how much nostalgia I had for Willow until I watched this trailer. That VHS got a LOT of play in my childhood. Glad to see Warwick Davis get top billing and that they seem to have let the character grow strong, confident, and experienced, which feels right.