Star Warsisn’t the only George Lucas-created franchise coming toDisney Plus. If the latest rumors are true, a sequel toWillow, the Ron Howard-directed fantasy film starring Warwick Davis, might be headed to Disney’s upcoming streaming service, too.
Howard said he’s currently in “discussions” with Disney Plus and Lucasfilm regarding aWillowrevival on theHappy, Sad, Confusedpodcast, and says that the project will be a television show that picks up some time after the movie left off. IfWillowgoes to series, Howard expects star Davis to reprise his role as the titular Nelwyn, while Jon Kasdan, who co-wrote Howard’sSolo: A Star Wars Story, is already on board for scripting duties.
In fact, it sounds like Kasdan was instrumental to getting the project off the ground in the first place. “Jon Kasdan … kept hounding me aboutWillowthe whole time we were shooting,” Howard says, “and also hounding Kathy Kennedy.” Howard claims that Kasdan “has … an inspired take on” the property, which will be more “intimate” than the feature film.
Willowdebuted in 1988, and told the story of an aspiring sorcerer who must rescue his adopted child from a power-hungry queen. Lucas came up with the idea in 1972, before he madeStar Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, and enlisted Davis, who playedthe Ewok Wicket, and Howard, who starred in Lucas’American Graffiti, to help make the film a few years after wrappingReturn of the Jedi.
AWillowsequel has been a popular topic of conversation for years. Lucas hired comic book writer Chris Claremont to pen a trilogy ofWillownovels based on an outline by Lucas in the mid-’90s, while he told crowds at Star Wars Celebration that he was working on aWillowtelevision show in 2005. Last year, Howard teased that aWillowfollow-up might be coming, although that iteration soundsmore like a feature filmthan a TV series.
If Willow does make its way to Disney Plus, it will join a long line ofgeek-friendly propertiesdebuting on the service. Disney has already confirmed that Disney Plus will host two live-action Star Wars shows,The Mandalorianand aRogue Onespin-off starring Diego Luna, as well as a number of Marvel productions, many of which areeven more interestingnow thatAvengers: Endgamehas radically changed the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
