Willow: Jon Kasdan on the unanswered question that led him to develop the TV series

Willow was released nearly thirty-five years ago and starred Warwick Davis as a young farmer who stumbled across Elora Danan, an infant who was prophesied to bring about the downfall of the evil Queen Bavmorda. Teaming up with the mercenary swordsman Madmartigan (Val Kilmer), Willow attempted to keep Elora from the clutches of Bavmorda’s legions. It’s a wonderful fantasy movie, and we’re a month away from the continuation of Willow’s story in the form of the long-awaited Disney+ TV series. While speaking with SFX, Willow showrunner Jon Kasdan explained the one unanswered question from the movie that led him to create the TV series.

There are a million unanswered questions from the movie, but for me there’s only one, and it’s the reason we did this show at all: what happened to that baby? I think, more than anything George Lucas has done, Willow was the one that said ‘sequel’ to me.

Jon Kasdan continued, “With Star Wars, if you look at A New Hope, the Death Star is blown up, they’ve won the battle and there’s no final shot of Darth Vader rubbing his fingertips together, saying, ‘I’ll get even!’ – that story was over. But Willow ended with the most powerful person in the world as an eight-month-old infant, so it felt like there was story left to tell.” Elora hasn’t been featured all that much in the promotions for the Willow series, which Kasdan describes as “intentional.“

The Willow TV series takes place decades after the events of the original movie as an older and wiser Willow joins forces with an unlikely group of heroes who set off on a dangerous quest to places far beyond their home, where they must face their inner demons and come together to save their world. Willow will debut on Disney+ on November 30th. A new trailer for the series was also released, which you can check out below.