After a long period of waiting, Disney Plus finally confirmed last week that a Willow sequel series is coming to the platform. Warwick Davis is returning to the lead role, while Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians) is directing at least some of the first run of episodes.
Now, The Illuminerdi has shared an update on what the show will reportedly involve when it eventually reaches our screens. In terms of production schedules, it appears that Willow will begin shooting in Wales in April 2021, although this will presumably depend on the situation with COVID-19. There’ll be eight episodes in the first season and, based on the new information, the Mouse House seem to be keen on the future prospects of Willow as a franchise.
According to the latest teases, the project is currently casting relatively unknown actors for these parts:
GIRL 1 – Series Regular Female (18-24) Caucasian – Daughter of two characters from the first film
Girl 2 – Series Regular Female (18-24) Mixed – Young returning character from the film.
Girl 3 – Series Regular Female (18-24) Hispanic – The villain of the piece
Male Love Interest – Series Regular (30-35) – Love interest to “Girl 2”
From this list, it’s probably a good bet to say that “Girl 1” will be the daughter of Val Kilmer and Joanne Whalley’s characters from the film, with Kilmer also possibly returning in some capacity. The second female part is also likely to a familiar one for fans of the 1980s picture, in this case the then-infant princess Elora Danan, while the third could be a new sorceress. From the casting call, then, it seems reasonable to assume that family will be a big part of the new episodes.
It’s as yet unclear, though, whether Willow will draw on the the series of novels released from 1995 to 2000, which fleshed out George Lucas’ ideas for an ongoing mythology. In these books, we got Elora as a main character, so it might be that some of the details from Lucas’ work will find their way into the new scripts. How the “male love interest” ties into things is another question, but suggests that the production team on Willow may already have the season written, given that they’ve been working on it since at least the beginning of 2020.
In any case, we’re looking forward to hearing more about the Willow follow-up as it moves closer to getting in front of the cameras, with the hope that we may see something on D+ before the end of next year.
