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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