With Disney’s new streaming service Disney+, the Mouse House is mining its vast libraries for IPs that can be revived in the form of new content for the service. And one of the most exciting revivals that could happen is a Willow sequel series. While the series has unofficially been in the works for several months, we still know very little about it. But that’s changing now that the original film’s director, Ron Howard, has shared some new details on the project.
While speaking to Collider, Howard revealed that the series has not yet officially received the green light from Disney, meaning there’s a chance it might not happen. He also revealed that he is not very involved in the creative process of the show at this point, but that he would like to be involved should the series get produced. Instead, Howard stated that Jonathan Kasdan — the son of legendary Indiana Jones and Star Wars scribe Lawrence Kasdan — is writing the series and would likely serve as its showrunner. “We are developing Willow for Disney Plus,” Howard said. “And I don’t know about directing or not, but Jon Kasdan is writing, he’s very passionate about it, great job. We don’t have a green light yet, but if it goes, I’ll certainly want to roll up my sleeves and be a part of that, because that would be great, to revisit that world.” The younger Kasdan has already followed in his father’s Lucasfilm footprints, co-writing Solo: A Wars Story with his old man and being tapped to pen the next Indiana Jones installment, so his involvement with the studio’s Willow reboot is certainly on-brand.
Howard also confirmed that the series, which he described as an “event series,” is a sequel to the original film and not a reboot. “Warwick Davis is going to be in it and so yes, I think it’s safe to say it’s decades later,” the director said. Beyond that, Howard declined (or was just unable) to share any more details about the plot, but just the fact that Davis is returning as Willow should be enough information to satisfy most fans of the ’80s fantasy classic. Now here’s hoping Willow can cast a spell that will ensure that this series actually gets made!
