Willow series announced for Disney+

Lucasfilm is resurrecting Willow, bringing a live action series to Disney+ that is set in the same world as the 1988 film starring Warwick Davis.

Back in 1988, Ron Howard collaborated with George Lucas on Willow, a fantasy film with Warwick Davis in the lead role. Now, Lucasfilm has announced that a series set in the same universe is coming to Disney+.

The pilot for the series will be directed by Jon M. Chu and has been written by Jonathan Kasdan. Wendy Mericle will Executive Produce alongside Chu and Kasdan.

“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. “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 honored to reprise.”

As well as starring Davis as the titular character, the live action show promises to introduce new characters.

“Growing up in the’80s, Willow has had a profound effect on me,” says Chu. “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.”

Ron Howard directed the original film for Lucasfilm and will return as Executive Producer. Bob Dolman, writer of the 1988 movie, will serve as Consulting Producer.

“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.”

It is the first series or movie from Lucasfilm not based in the Star Wars universe since the company was acquired by Disney in 2015. Given that both Star Wars and Indiana Jones have been given the LEGO treatment, fans will be curious whether or not Willow also gets adapted to the brick.

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