Disney+'s Willow Flaunts Old Friends And Terrifying New Enemies In First Full Trailer
Disney+ recently announced that a sequel series based on Ron Howard's 1988 film "Willow" will debut on November 30, and Howard told Looper what to expect from the show. "It's both true to the traditions of 'Willow' and the work that we did then... [and] a real contemporary evolution of it, in a cool way that is entertaining," he said. "It preserves a lot of the humor, but in a much more modern way ... it's great to see Warwick Davis back as Willow, wiser, but [still] Willow. It's been fun to be a part of it."
Howard will serve as one of seven executive producers for the Disney+ project, along with his Imagine Entertainment partner Brian Grazer, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, and "Californication" director Jonathan Kasdan. Disney+ released a new "Willow" trailer earlier today, offering a solid two-minute glimpse into the upcoming series and showing us some familiar faces along with a few fresh ones.
Much of the original cast returns, including Warwick Davis as Willow
Warwick Davis returns as the titular sorcerer; Joanne Whalley is also back as Sorsha, the daughter of Queen Bavmorda, Willow's vanquished nemesis from the film. Rool (Kevin Pollack) is ecstatic to see his old friend in the trailer, dancing joyfully outside his house with a woman who looks much too young to be his wife, Kiaya (Julie Peters).
High Aldwin (Billy Barty) and Queen Bavmorda (Jean Marsh) are absent from the trailer; Barty died in 2000 and Marsh's character was killed at the end of the film. Madmartigan (Val Kilmer) is also nowhere to be seen — COVID initially kept Kilmer from filming and Entertainment Weekly reported that throat cancer ultimately prevented him from resurrecting the character.
The contingent of youngsters who enlist Willow's help are all played by actors who were yet to be born when the original film premiered. Among them are Sorsha's daughter Kit (Ruby Cruz), Kit's bestie Jade (Erin Kellyman), and a repentant thief named Boorman (Amer Chadha-Patel). The swashbuckling Boorman is featured prominently in the trailer, which also includes the requisite amount of swordplay, castles, and dungeons. But it's Rool who lets us all know what to expect from the series, gleefully exclaiming to Willow, "Just like old times! Ha! Running! Horses! Mayhem! Mayhem! Happy kissy ending."