When Disney bought Lucasfilm it wasn’t exactly a shock to learn we would get new Star Wars and new Indiana Jones movies, but one property that nobody was necessarily expecting to ever see again was Willow. George Lucas’ magical fantasy story certainly had fans, but it never went past the one movie so it didn’t have the franchise power of those other names. And yet, here we are with a Willow sequel series on Disney+ and even Val Kilmer can’t believe that it’s happening.
On the eve of the first episode of the Willow series dropping, writer Jon Kasdan shared a picture of himself with Warwick Davis from the set of Solo: A Star Wars Story, a film Kasdan co-wrote and Davis appeared in multiple cameos. It was there the idea for the new Willow series was actually born. Kasdan said the idea of making a sequel series wasn’t a case of dreaming big, it was in fact dreaming “crazy.” Val Kilmer then retweeted the image and agreed everybody involved was quite mad.
❤️ these two ‘MADMEN’ @WarwickADavis @JonKasdan #willow @DisneyPlus https://t.co/Ow09gB6Ts6December 4, 2022
Kilmer calls Kasdan and Davis, “madmen” a nice reference to his own Willow character Madmartigan. It’s certainly a fitting response. Evan Kasdan doesn't seem to believe that the show actually happened. I guess this is another case of believing in yourself and taking your shot, because you never know what might actually happen.
For what it's worth a Willow sequel actually makes more sense then a lot of other legacy projects. That movie was all about a baby that was supposed to grow up and do great things, and while the attempt to stop her as an infant failed, fans are still going to want to see what happens when she actually grows up.
As far as we know, Kilmer himself does not appear in the series, the actor has been dealing with the fallout from throat surgery and is thus all but retired. Kilmer did appear in another major sequel, Top Gun: Maverick, but it seems unlikely that a similar Willow cameo would have worked with the story. The character’s absence is addressed directly, and two of the main characters of the new series are his children.
The subject of a Willow sequel was something that would be brought up from time to time. There were certainly people that would have loved to have seen such a thing, but there would certainly have been a question as to whether or not there was enough of an audience to make it worthwhile.
I had a chance to talk to Warwick Davis following the production of Solo: A Star Wars Story and he mentioned at the time that Willow had come up in conversation. Of course, I’m sure any number of ideas get brought up in moments like that, but they don’t always actually happen.
One hopes Val Kilmer is one of the Willow fans who has been enjoying watching the new series.
