Back in January, cult classic Willow was announced to be getting an upcoming sequel show on Disney+. The 1988 Ron Howard movie boasts a story by George Lucas and after a somewhat rocky release, steadily picked up a dedicated fanbase on home video. Details are thin on the ground about what the new Willow will consist of, but so far we know that Solo: A Star Wars Story writer Jon Kasdan is on script duty, that original star Warwick Davis will appear, that Ron Howard won’t direct but will be involved and that it will be set after the film.
Now, our sources – the same ones who told us She-Hulk and Ms. Marvel shows were coming to Disney Plus well before they were announced – have informed us that Val Kilmer is in early talks to return as heroic former knight Madmartigan. Kilmer has famously had a rocky few years off-screen, having battled throat cancer and undergone a procedure on his trachea that affected his voice and makes him short of breath. Despite those negative effects, the operation saved his life and he’s resumed acting. In fact, Kilmer will next appear in Top Gun: Maverick, where his iconic ‘Iceman’ character is now an Admiral.
Of course, fans of Willow should expect a very different Madmartigan from the one they saw more than 30 years ago, possibly now having embraced his destiny as a leader in Galladoom and settled down with Princess Sorsha. However he returns, Kilmer remains an engaging presence and after his brush with death, it’ll be nice to see him back in front of the cameras.
We’re probably a ways off from seeing the Willow show, but the success of similar projects like Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance may light a fire under Disney to get this thing moving. And, if that goes well, there are whispers it could lead into a big screen return via a fully-fledged Willow 2.
