Willow

Premise

It has been more than twenty years since Queen Bavmorda was defeated. Six unlikely heroes 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 from the forces of evil: the Gales, who work for the Crone and are allies of the Wyrm.

Cast and characters

Main

Warwick Davis as Willow Ufgood, a Nelwyn sorcerer who leads a party to rescue the twin brother of Princess Kit Tanthalos.

Ellie Bamber as Elora Danan, the future Empress of Tir Asleen, disguised as a kitchen maid named "Dove", who is in love with Airk and joins the quest to save him from the Gales. Alayna Jacobs portrays a 5-year-old Elora. Bamber also portrays the Wyrm in "Children of the Wyrm".

Ruby Cruz as Princess Kit Tanthalos, the princess of Tir Asleen, who sets in motion a quest to rescue her twin brother Airk.

Erin Kellyman as Jade Claymore, a knight-in-training. She is the long-lost daughter of General Kael and Kit's love interest, who joins in the quest to save prince Airk. The relationship between Kit and Jade makes the series "the first true franchise on Disney Plus to really center a queer story", according to Polygon.

Tony Revolori as Prince Graydon Hastur, the prince of Galladoorn and member of the quest. Benjamin Revolori, Tony Revolori's younger brother, portrays a younger Prince Graydon.

Amar Chadha-Patel as Thraxus Boorman, an imprisoned, self-proclaimed treasure hunter and swordsman who claims to have a history with Madmartigan. He is offered freedom from the dungeon by queen Sorsha if he joins her daughter's quest.

Dempsey Bryk as Prince Airk Tanthalos, Kit's twin brother, who is kidnapped by the Gales

Guest

Joanne Whalley as Queen Sorsha, an accomplished warrior, the ruler of Tir Asleen, the wife of Madmartigan and the daughter of the defeated Bavmorda. Sorsha has since become the mother of Kit and Airk, and the guardian of Elora.

Ralph Ineson as Commander Ballantine, Jade's adoptive father and loyal servant of queen Sorsha

Sifiso Mazibuko as Merrick, a soldier working under commander Ballantine

Kenny Knight as Lieutenant Keene, a soldier working under commander Ballantine

Derek Horsham as King Hastur, the king of Galladoorn and Graydon's father.

Talisa Garcia as Queen Arianna, the queen of Galladoorn and Graydon's mother.

Eileen Davies as Prunella, a senior servant of queen Sorsha who "Dove" answers to.

Simon Armstrong as Jørgen Kase, a warrior and trainer of Airk.

Joonas Suotamo as the Scourge, a hulking monstrosity who wears a cage over his head and is a member of the Gales

Daniel Naprous as the Doom, a hooded robed and masked member of the Gales

Vitas Le Bas as the Lich, a member of the Gales who infects commander Ballantine

Claudia Hughes as the Dag, a shape-shifting member of the Gales

Simeon Dyer as Karthy, a Nelwyn who is Willow's apprentice

Production

Development

Discussions about a continuation of Willow began as early as 2005 when George Lucas commented at Celebration III about Lucasfilm going back to television, with Warwick Davis reiterating his interest in a sequel film in returning in multiple interviews. During a May 2019 interview with an MTV podcast, Ron Howard, director of the 1988 film, revealed he had been approached by Jonathan Kasdan about rebooting the film as a television series at Disney+.

In October 2020, the series was greenlit, with Jon M. Chu directing the pilot episode and Davis reprising his titular role. Chu would announce that he had to step away from directing duties due to a production delay and personal reasons in January 2021. Later that month, Jonathan Entwistle was hired to replace Chu as director of the pilot, and as executive producer. However, due to production delays as a result of a recasting, Entwistle also exited the series, with Stephen Woolfenden coming in to direct the first two episodes of the series.

In March 2023, Disney+ canceled the series after only one season. Kasdan stated the cast had been released from their contracts due to the shifts going on at Disney but that there is hope that the series could still pick up at some point in the future. As part of cuts being made at Disney, the show was one of many removed from Disney+ streaming service in May 2023.

Casting

In November 2020, Erin Kellyman, Cailee Spaeny and Ellie Bamber entered negotiations to join the cast. In January 2021, Tony Revolori would enter negotiations to join the cast, which was now confirmed to include Kellyman, Spaeny and Bamber. Revolori would be confirmed to join the cast in March, along with the recasting of Spaeny with Ruby Cruz. Amar Chadha-Patel would join the next month. By November 2021, Ralph Ineson was added to the cast. In April 2022, Talisa García and Rosabell Laurenti Sellers were cast, with Garcia starring as Revolori's character's mother, marking the first time a transgender actor has appeared in a Lucasfilm production. In May 2022, Joanne Whalley appeared at the Lucasfilm panel at Star Wars Celebration, revealing that she would be reprising her role as Sorsha from the original film. At the D23 Expo in September, Kevin Pollak was revealed to be reprising his role from the film, with Christian Slater also being announced as part of the cast.

Val Kilmer was unable to participate in filming to reprise his role as Madmartigan due to his recovery from throat cancer and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but Davis and Kasdan stated in May 2022 that his character would still be involved "in a big way". Although he had lost full use of his vocal cords because of his throat cancer, Kilmer still initially recorded Madmartigan's lines. This was then used as a guide track for his son Jack, who duplicated his father's voice in the same way that he did in their 2021 documentary film Val.

Filming

Production for the series began in June 2021 in Wales, with Dragon Studios near Llanharan being used as a location. During production, five stages totalling 28,000 square feet were constructed at Dragon Studios. The set for Tir Asleen Castle was built on a six-acre lot at Dragon Studios. In addition, a set for the "Immemorial City" was constructed at Dragon Studios, which drew inspiration from Blade Runner 2049. Lucasfilm also built 20 additional buildings around Dragon Studios for the purposes of creature creation, puppeteering work, special effects constructions, and costumes. To comply with local COVID-19 pandemic health and safety guidelines, these buildings were built with substantial space and ventilation.

In addition to Dragon Studios, filming took place at 32 locations across Wales including Pendine Sands, Morlais Quarry, Merthyr Mawr, Neath Abbey, Snowdonia, and Holyhead. For the production, Lucasfilm received funding from Creative Wales to hire 25 trainees for six months. Lucasfilm also hired 335 full-time crew members including 206 Welsh citizens. Due to a determined effort to hire local crew in senior roles, 17 of the 29 production departments were led by Welsh citizens. Non-Welsh crew were also paired with Welsh citizens. Significant post-production work also took places in Wales.

Music

The score for the series is composed by James Newton Howard and Xander Rodzinski and includes the themes from the film composed by James Horner.

Marketing

A trailer of Willow was released at Star Wars Celebration on May 26, 2022. A second trailer and official poster were released at the Disney fan expo D23 on September 10, 2022. The D23 expo also featured a panel consisting of several Willow cast members including Davis and Slater. On November 1 during the Lucca Comics & Games 2022, a part of the first episode and exclusive video clips of the series was shown in world premiere in the presence of actors Ellie Bamber, Erin Kellyman and Amar Chadha-Patel.

Reception

Viewership

JustWatch, a guide to streaming content with access to data from more than 20 million users around the world, estimated that Willow was the third most-streamed series in the U.S. during the week of December 5–11, 2022. The streaming aggregator Reelgood, which uses first-party data from its 5 million U.S. users interacting with movies and TV shows on the platform in real time, announced that it was the sixth most streamed program in the U.S. during the week of December 14, 2022. Whip Media, which tracks viewership data for the more than 25 million worldwide users of its TV Time app, calculated that Willow was the sixth most-streamed original series in the U.S. from December 11 to 25, 2022. It then climbed to fifth place for the weeks of January 1 and January 8, 2023. It later returned to sixth place during the week of January 15, 2023. According to market research company Parrot Analytics, which looks at consumer engagement in consumer research, streaming, downloads, and on social media, Willow had a demand level 14.6 times higher than the average show during Q1 2023. It was among the top 10% in popularity during Q1 2023 before its removal.

Critical response

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 84% approval rating with an average rating of 7/10, based on 70 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Expanding on the saga while leaving plenty of room for callbacks to the original, this series-length sequel should satisfy fans who've been patiently waiting for more Willow." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 70 out of 100 based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Alex Cranz of The Verge described Willow as a standout fantasy series that delivers a fun and earnest adventure, contrasting with recent fantasy shows that missed the mark. They found the show to be a vibrant blend of humor, action, and character development. Cranz appreciated the balance between practical effects and CGI and noted the series' successful blend of nostalgia with fresh storytelling. Helen O'Hara, writing for Empire Magazine rated Willow four out of five stars and praised it for its traditional fantasy charm and fun, swashbuckling adventure. They found the series, despite the absence of Val Kilmer's Madmartigan, to be a worthy successor to the original film, with a likeable and energetic cast that includes Ruby Cruz, Tony Revolori, and Amar Chadha-Patel. O'Hara appreciated the show for its vivid characters, engaging obstacles, and fresh expansion of the original world. They noted that while it may not match the depth of Game of Thrones or The Lord of the Rings, it effectively balances nostalgia with new, exciting elements, making it an immensely fun and unashamedly silly sword-and-sorcery show.

Steve Greene of IndieWire gave Willow a B− rating, saying it struggles with integrating nostalgia and modern sensibilities. They found the show initially bogged down by its need to justify its existence and modernize a decades-old story, leading to a disjointed mix of self-aware comedy and serious fantasy elements. Greene noted that while the series starts off unevenly, it finds its footing in the second half with engaging side quests and improved character dynamics. They appreciated the show's ability to carve out its own identity despite its connections to the original film and other fantasy franchises. Alan Sepinwall of Rolling Stone criticized Willow for its uneven tone and identity crisis. They noted that while it revisits the world of the original film with a mix of new and returning characters, it struggles to balance its nostalgic elements with contemporary humor and modern references. Sepinwall found the series entertaining at times, particularly appreciating the engaging action sequences and visually appealing production design. However, they felt that the show's attempt to cater to both fans of the original and new viewers resulted in a lack of clear focus and emotional depth. Despite its potential, Sepinwall believed Willow often falters in maintaining a consistent tone and narrative drive.

Accolades

The series was also one of 200 television series that received the ReFrame Stamp for the years 2022 to 2023. The stamp is awarded by the gender equity coalition ReFrame and industry database IMDbPro for film and television projects that are proven to have gender-balanced hiring, with stamps being awarded to projects that hire female-identifying people, especially women of color, in four out of eight key roles for their production.