One of the more anticipated potential additions to Disney Plus, a Willow sequel series appeared to be entering production a few weeks ago. The show was reported to feature Warwick Davis returning to the title role, with Jonathan Kasdan acting as showrunner. A new interview with Davis over on Inverse has now given us a better idea of where things are with the Willow sequel, and while generally positive, he does admit that the series isn’t quite a done deal for the streaming platform.
Davis had this to say about the status of the Willow show:
“The internet has got a little bit ahead of us here. There’s a lot of work on development and working out what this potentially could be, but there’s no definite green light, go, we’re doing this. There’s a lot of work going on. The right people have come together. There’s a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of goodwill from the right people and also from the fans. I think that’s what’s really so heartwarming is the enthusiasm from people around the world. So, yeah, no definite news there. I think there’s a firm chance that this is going to be something that becomes a reality. Definitely.”
These comments are somewhat disappointing given that earlier social media posts from Kasdan seemed to imply that the series was, at the very least, greenlit. However, the reality now seems to be that the concept is in active development, but that nothing has been confirmed yet from Disney. Given the established success of Disney Plus though, we’d wager that the Willow follow-up has a decent chance of getting made, at least based on fan enthusiasm.
The possibility of a Willow sequel has been floated since the original picture’s 1988 release, but has most likely been a victim of Lucasfilm prioritizing other projects, as well as the busy schedule of director Ron Howard. Although details on what the Willow series may cover are thin on the ground, it’s possible the producers could adapt the Chronicles of the Shadow War trilogy of novels by Chris Claremont and George Lucas, which build on the world we saw in the movie.
Potential Willow showrunner Jon Kasdan has most recently been involved with the screenplay for Solo: A Star Wars Story, as well as an in-development Indiana Jones sequel, indicating the trust in him by Lucasfilm. Furthermore, expanding upon the IP on Disney Plus makes sense in the context of the series spun out from the Star Wars universe, and the upcoming roster of Marvel television shows. Here’s hoping that we get some firmer confirmation soon that a Willow sequel will go ahead, and that Davis and others from the original cast will get a chance to appear.
