Ron Howard’s ‘Willow’ was a brazen attempt by George Lucas to make his own ‘The Lord of the Rings’ by applying his filter to the fantasy and adventure genre, and now after more than 30 years the story of Willow will finally continue in her own series with Warwick Davis returning as a mentor to a new young hero named Kit (Ruby Cruz), a princess on a quest to protect her world. Now Disney+ has released its trailer at D23.
magic and monsters
Joanne Whalley also reprises her role as Sorsha, the warrior who turned on her mother, the evil queen Bavmorda, yuNew cast member just announced at D23 is Christian Slaterwho will play an old friend of Mad Martigan. ‘Willow’ was not a cult title for its flop, rather, it was a modest success across the board, earning praise for its cutting-edge visuals at the time, while It was also criticized for its rehashed narrative tropes, and did well enough at the box office, but not so well that it earned an automatic sequel.
The lack of sequels helps explain the approach taken by the television series, which clearly intended to act as an entry point for newcomers to this franchise while also tapping into the nostalgia of the fans of the 1988 film, like so many other current “requels”. However, the competition with ‘The rings of power’ and ‘The house of the dragon’ leaves its angle young adultwith a slightly ‘Xena’ theatrical aspect far removed from the ocher tones and dirtier and more cinematographic production than any fan of the original remembers.
The cast includes young faces like Erin Kellyman, Tony Revolori, Ellie Bamber, and Amer Chadha-Patel. Executive producer Jonathan Kasdan commented that Val Kilmer’s scoundrel swordsman, Madmartigan, is part of the sequel even though Kilmer was unable to work on the series due to the pandemic and his battle with throat cancer in recent years. Willow will begin streaming on Disney+ on November 30, 2022.