Deadline reports that Rosabell Laurenti Sellers, who is best known for playing the role of Tyene Sand in the HBO series Game of Thrones, has been cast in the upcoming Disney+ fantasy series Willow, which serves as a follow-up to the 1988 film of the same title (watch it HERE). The name of Sellers’ Willow character was not revealed, but Deadline hears that she’ll be “a resourceful character with sharp, acerbic wit.”
Scripted by Bob Dolman from a story by George Lucas, the 1988 Willow had the following synopsis:
Journey to the far corners of your imagination, where dreams and reality live side by side. Enter the world of WILLOW, the biggest and most spectacular epic adventure to ever explode across the screen. From master storytellers George Lucas and Ron Howard comes this rare odyssey of unlikely heroes, wicked villains, and innocent souls caught in a mysterious realm of battle, magic, and camaraderie.
It all begins with Willow Ufgood (Warwick Davis), who leaves his village to carry a special baby to safety. Aided by a swashbuckling warrior (Val Kilmer), Willow’s quest is plagued by danger as the Powers of Darkness scheme to destroy the child – a child destined to bring everlasting peace and freedom to the land.
Dolman is a consulting producer on the series. Julia Cooperman is producer, and Roopesh Parekh and Hannah Friedman are co-executive producers. Willow is being executive produced by Jonathan Kasdan, Wendy Mericle, Kathleen Kennedy, Michelle Rejwan, and the film’s director Ron Howard. Kasdan wrote the pilot episode and serves as showrunner alongside Mericle.
Warwick Davis reprises the role of Willow Ufgood, and is joined in the cast by Ruby Cruz, Ellie Bamber, Erin Kellyman, Amer Chadha-Patel, Talisa Garcia, Dempsey Bryk, and Tony Revolori. According to casting information, the series follows
a group on a mission to save a kidnapped prince. The members of the team include Dove (Bamber), whose backstory resembles that of Willow from the movie. Dove is an unassuming kitchen maid who proves she is the “chosen one” as she embarks on the journey. She is joined by Kit (Cruz), the princess whose twin brother was abducted. She is destined to be a leader and ultimately the queen. Kellyman plays Jade, a servant who is Kit’s best friend and moral compass. She is on her way to becoming the best young warrior in the kingdom. Also part of the group is a guy who echoes Val Kilmer’s character in the movie. A thief and liar, he joins the quest in exchange for getting out of prison.
The Willow series is filmed in Wales, where much of the movie was shot. Stephen Woolfenden directed the first two episodes.
I was a big fan of Willow when I was a kid, so I’m looking forward to this series. Are you?