How a meeting with George Lucas on the set of Solo led to a Willow series

In a few short weeks, Disney+ will premiere its new Willow TV series, continuing the tale of Warwick Davis’ aspiring sorcerer Willow Ufgood from the eponymous 1988 movie. It’s been 34 years since Willow last graced our screens, but the time draws nigh for a good adventure.

The original Willow is a beloved movie, but you don’t usually see a ton of people craving a sequel. Perhaps that bodes well, because it sounds like the conceit for the Willow series came about in one of the most organic, wholesome ways possible.

George Lucas’ visit to the set of Solo: A Star Wars Story led to Willow revival

It all started on the set of Solo: A Star Wars Story, when writer Jon Kasdan had the opportunity to talk to George Lucas himself.

“Warwick was actually there, present on the day, that I had my one and only conversation with George about this project,” Kasdan recalled during a press conference last week, per Syfy Wire. “He came and visited the set of Solo because he is devoted to [Ron Howard, who directed both Solo and the original Willow movie] and they are dear, dear friends in real life. They told us that he was going to come for just a moment and we shouldn’t make direct eye contact or ask him any direct questions. And instead, he ended up staying for six hours and answering all our questions and being nothing but lovely.”

One of the questions that Kasdan asked Lucas was why there had never been more Willow stories. Kasdan remembered a moment where he was sitting next to Lucas, “the god of his childhood,” and said that he felt Willow was ripe for some kind of continuation:

"He kind of smiled wryly and said he couldn’t agree more and had been trying to make that happen for quite a while. He was a supporter and an advocate for any of that we could get off the ground. And, that faith and excitement and genuine boyish enthusiasm was really critical to feeling like this was something we could go off and do."

From there, it fell to Kasdan and Ron Howard to figure out what the show could be about. “One thing we always knew was at the core of it was what became of Elora Danan?” Kasdan said. “We thought that was a subject with a lot of promise. The movie ended with a bittersweet moment of Warwick kissing this baby and then saying, ‘Okay, goodbye. I’ll never see you again.’ As an 8-year-old, I was like, ‘You mean, they’re not going to live together? They’re not going to have a life together?’ And how is she going to find out about all this stuff that happened to her?’ So that felt like a great jumping off place for a series.”

"Further ideas developed around the question of who was protecting her in the interim years and what was the best way to protect her, not telling her who she was? That all felt in line with a lot of George’s other stories about people discovering their unique heritage, or specialness, as they go through their lives. With this particular show, which is so much about growing up, that seemed like a theme that made total sense to us."

Willow premieres its first two episodes on Disney+ on November 30. After that, new episodes will drop every Wednesday.

To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.

Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels