Willow Ufgood is making a comeback.
The beloved film from Ron Howard and George Lucas is getting a second life thanks to Disney+.
Howard will serve as an executive producer on the series, with “Crazy Rich Asians” director Jon M. Chu helming the pilot. Original film star Warwick Davis will reprise his role as the titular Willow, along with newly announced cast members.
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“So many fans have asked me over the years if Willow will make a return, and now I’m thrilled to tell them that he will indeed,” says Davis in a statement announcing the project. “Many have told me they grew up with ‘Willow’ and that the film has influenced how they view heroism in our own world. If Willow Ufgood can represent the heroic potential in all of us, then he is a character I am extremely honoured to reprise.”
Deadline reported Monday that in addition to Davis, Disney+ is also in talks with “Nocturnal Animals” actress Elli Bamber, “The Craft: Legacy” star Cailee Spaeny and “Solo” star Erin Kellyman to play the three female leads in the series.
The series will take place years after the events of the original “Willow” film and will introduce all-new characters to the enchanted realm of fairy queens and two-headed Eborsisk monsters, and welcomes back its namesake hero, Willow Ufgood.
“Growing up in the ’80s, ‘Willow’ has had a profound effect on me,” says Chu in a statement. “The story of the bravest heroes in the least likely places allowed me, an Asian-American kid growing up in a Chinese restaurant looking to go to Hollywood, to believe in the power of our own will, determination and of course, inner magic. So the fact that I get to work with my heroes from Kathleen Kennedy to Ron Howard is bigger than a dream-come-true. It’s a bucket-list moment for me. Jon Kasdan and Wendy Mericle have added such groundbreaking new characters and delightful surprises to this timeless story that I can’t wait for the world to come along on this epic journey with us.”
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“Willow” starred Warwick Davis as a dwarf who was given the task of protecting a special baby from an evil Queen and Val Kilmer as Mad Martigan.
The flick first premiered in 1988, but didn’t receive a cult following until years later.
“It’s creatively exciting to not only revisit the world and characters first conceived by George Lucas, Bob Dolman and myself but to see it take flight in such fresh, fun and cinematic ways through the imagination of Jon Kasdan and Team Willow,” says Howard. “This isn’t a nostalgic throw-back, it’s a creative lean-forward and it’s a blast to be a part of it all.”
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Howard previously teased a revival in 2019 during an appearance on MTV’s “Happy Sad Confused” podcast, saying that he and Lucas have toyed with the idea of a “Willow” television series.
“I think it’d be a great way to go,” Howard said. “In fact, George always talked about the possibility of a ‘Willow’ series, and it’d be great and more intimate, and built around that character and some of the others. And Jon Kasdan has, I think, an inspired take on it and it could be really, really cool.”
