Banking on our nostalgia, Disney+ has officially greenlit a sequel series to 1988’s sword-and sorcery epic Willow, starring Warwick Davis in the title role.
Children of the ’80s rejoice: Disney+ is officially making a TV show version of 1988’s Willow, per Variety. The series will be overseen by Jonathan Kasdan (Solo: A Star Wars Story) and Wendy Mericle (Arrow), with original Willow director Ron Howard serving as executive producer. Original star Warwick Davis will return in the title role and Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians) will direct the pilot as well as serve as an executive producer.
The brainchild of Star Wars creator George Lucas, Willow was about a dwarf farmer named Willow who found himself protecting Elora Danan, a child prophesied to bring down the evil Queen Bavmorda (Jean Marsh). Along the way, Willow received help both magical and otherwise from improbable allies like the swordsman Madmartigan (Val Kilmer) and Bavmorda’s daughter Sorsha (Joanne Whalley).
We don’t have any word on the exact plot details of the sequel, but it’s said to take place years after the original film.
If Disney were looking to follow Lucas’ original plan for his characters (which is very much didn’t do with the Star Wars sequels), it could look to the official sequel novels by legendary comic book writer Chris Claremont published through the mid-’90s. There, we saw the now grown and spoiled Elora dealing with another world-wrecking cataclysm, once again accompanied by Willow. Although those novels were poorly received, they could still serve as a blueprint.
Whatever happens, given how the original film hinted at a larger world, it should be fun to return to a land of faeries, dragons and heroes that come in all shapes and sizes. No release date has been announced, but the project begins production sometime next year.
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