I'm going to sound like an old man yelling at a cloud for the next few moments, but I'm perfectly okay with that. Back in my day, Lucasfilm unleashed one of the greatest fantasy-action films of all time with Ron Howard's 1988 classic: WILLOW. Based on a story from Mr. Star Wars himself, George Lucas, with a screenplay penned by Bob Dolman (THE BANGER SISTERS, FAR AND AWAY), WILLOW starred LEPRECHAUN and EWOKS: THE BATTLE FOR ENDOR star Warwick Davis, a young and virile Val Kilmer (TOP GUN, THE SAINT), as well as Joanne Whalley as the bow-savvy Sorsha. The film offered up-and-coming film buffs like myself a harsh and wondrous world, teeming with magic and populated by all manor of dwarfs, witches, and surly sword-wielding warriors. For many, myself included, WILLOW served as an awakening for the fantasy fan that was so well-nurtured by films of the 1980s like LABYRINTH, RETURN TO OZ, and THE DARK CRYSTAL. It's a property that is long overdue for a comeback, and now we have an update for the WILLOW television series that's been in the works for quite some time.
According to an interview in the Los Angeles Times with Lucasfilm's Kathleen Kennedy, SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY writer Jonathan Kasdan has completed a pilot script for a WILLOW television series at Disney+. Previously, The Verge ran a story claiming that Howard is also involved, and has been working alongside Kasdan to make the series happen. According to Howard, the WILLOW TV series would be a continuation of the original story, and would perhaps "focus a lot on Elora Danan, although Willow would have to be significantly involved."
In the original film, Elora Danan is an infant child who, according to an ancient prophecy, is destined to bring about the downfall of the evil Queen Bavmorda (as played by Jean Marsh). In time, Elora is smuggled out of her prison and is entrusted to Willow, a Nelwyn dwarf whose job it becomes to protect the child from harm until she can grow strong and fufill her destiny.
With regard to how the story can continue, Lucas and legendary comic book writer Chris Claremont released a series of novels belonging to the "Willowverse" between the years 1995-2000, titled Shadow Moon, Shadow Dawn, and Shadow Star. It could be that Kasdan has pulled inspiration for his pilot from these texts, but we'll have to wait until we have more details to find out for sure.
What say you, good people? Are you down for a WILLOW sequel series on Disney+? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!