Willow [DVD] [1988]

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However, despite these claims, Madmartigan does not physically appear in the show, as Kilmer was not able to join the cast on set. At a press conference close to the show's launch (via SYFY), Kasdan explained exactly how Madmartigan would factor into the Willow series. I think the best we can do is speculate based on the evidence at hand. A few things are happening at once here. Jonathan Kasdan, the creator and showrunner of the Willow series on Disney Plus says that Deadline’s report was mistaken and that while the show is not in production currently, and won’t be for some time, it has not been cancelled. Disney and Lucasfilm have released the actors from their obligation to the show for the time being, which allows them to seek out other roles during the interim, but Kasdan claims they have every intention of producing the next season.

If you want serious hardcore fantasy, go watch The Lord of the Rings when it hits theaters. But if you want a little escapist adventure, grab Willow on DVD. The story may not be the most original thing on the planet, but it is a fun movie. In his post, he explained that they decided to release the main cast to pursue other opportunities, and said Willow wouldn't resume filming in the next 12 months. However, he went on to explain that, "with the enthusiastic and unwavering support of Lucasfilm and Disney, we've developed and written what we hope is a brain-meltingly fun, richer, darker and better VOLUME II, which builds on the characters and story of our first eight chapters (The Wyrm survives!)." There were some highlights, of course. Had the show leaned into its strengths it might have been decent. I liked the casting for Elora a lot. Ellie Bamber is the perfect aged-up Elora, and did a great job with what she had to work with. She’s also one of those rare beauties that even in star-studded Hollywood stands out. Amar Chadha-Patel was fantastic as Boorman, as well, but the show decided to make his character a running gag rather than give him the depth he deserved. That last bit is for me, I suppose, and I do appreciate the spirit of the statement. We critics are here to help, not to destroy. I want the next season of Willow to be much, much better than the first season and some very simple changes—like taking out the godawful modern pop music—can go a long ways toward achieving that goal. Reducing the amount of modern aphorisms present in the dialogue and putting a little more effort into costumes would also help. I’m fine with all the representation and diversity—critiques that the show is “too woke” are silly—but I’d appreciate a bit more depth for a lot of these characters, and more realistic struggles.I own the old Laserdisc release of Willow and watch it occasionally, and this 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is quite an improvement over that multi-disc (featureless) set.The film used a very subdued "lived in" look for every aspect of the visuals, with very rare moments of bright colors. Even the early scenes in the Nelwyn village feature very natural hues. The clarity of this transfer brings that visual style through perfectly. So as I’ve thought about this more, I think the question really is this: What exactly are we supposed to believe? What’s really going on here?

The one thing that kind of suggests that while the show may not be officially cancelled, it’s not officially not cancelled either is this passage: This transfer is pristine. There were no visual problems with the print, and thankfully the image was devoid of any edge enhancement or compression artifacts. It is definitely a more well-rounded transfer than the one on the Phantom Menace, and with this much improvement from one Lucasfilm disc to another, I think we're going to be in for quite a treat when Indy and the original Star Wars trilogy hit the format. What a delightful, fantastical, journey through the earlier days of the munchkins. Not since the Wizard of Oz have I seen than many people of shortened stature grace a movie set and what a shame that is. So much talent, courage, and determination in people who must navigate life in a world designed for giants.

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Kasdan describes the second season he has in mind as ‘brain-meltingly fun, richer, darker and better” adding: Season 1 of Willow scored deceptively high on Rotten Tomatoes but faced a lot of criticism from both critics and, more importantly, fans. I don’t know what the numbers were but that’s also because Disney isn’t telling. They couldn’t have been great. Partly that’s because Willow is just not that big of an IP and partly that’s because, as I’ve noted, the show couldn’t make up its mind about who its target audience was. I think it aimed for the wrong demographic and ended up not as widely appealing as it could have been—if it had been directed at kids and parents rather than teens. That does not sound like a slam-dunk to me. At all. He says that he feels “fairly confident that, if asked, neither I, nor the folks at Lucasfilm, would or have actually characterized” the news as cancellation. But then what is it? I’m still not sure. Limbo, I guess? The Immemorial City?

The show has not been cancelled, Kasdan notes. “The truth is less splashy, but here it is: A decision was made last week to release our main cast for other series opportunities that may arise for them in the coming year.” He also notes that Mims will appear in every single episode of Season 2, which is a curious spoiler.It is a wonderful fantasy of heroes, villains, good vs. evil, magic, courage, and bravery. It is timeless and worth every penny. Oh well. Maybe it’s best we leave these old stories alone and write new ones instead. Just a thought. Sadly, Disney confirmed there wouldn't be a second season of Willow in March 2023, meaning the series was the latest to join the ranks of cancelled TV shows.

On top of this, you have Disney taking a more sober approach to Star Wars right now, and while Willow isn’t Star Wars it is Lucasfilm and that matters. The disappointing box office numbers for Solo: A Star Wars Story have led CEO Bob Iger to say recently that “maybe the cadence [of the release of Star Wars films] was a little too aggressive” and while the company is still “developing Star Wars films . . . we’re going to make sure when we make one, it’s the right one. So we’re being very careful there.” It’s not unreasonable to extrapolate from that a general sense of caution and feet on the brakes for non-Marvel projects going forward. Some have argued that Kasdan is saving face here, casting the current circumstances around the show in as positive a light as possible. It’s a cancellation in all but name. I think that may be true, but I also think it’s an important distinction. Disney could easily just cancel the show. This happens all the time. Keeping the door open to a potential second and third season has to be purposeful and until we hear otherwise, I think fans of the show should hold out a small sliver of hope. The movie was indeed brand new and very hard to find. My version is from Korea and I was a tad bit nervous when it arrived as some of the language on the case is written in Korean "hieroglyph s". But it is in English. This movie is directed by Ron Howard with the story credit going to George Lucas so you know it has to be wonderful. Perhaps the one thing Hollywood has consistently been great at, over its entire history, is servicing the appetites, no matter how obscure, of its consumers. And I have total confidence that, if an appetite for more Willow persists, Disney, Lucasfilm and this amazing cast and crew will satisfy it.” The tone. A bizarre mix of very modern sounding dialogue with a cast that was primarily late teen / early 20s’ and—for all its diversity—extremely uniform. Did we need five characters in this age demographic when the original film was about a young father and a roguish swordfighter trying to protect a baby with the help of a pair of brownies?Willow fits in well with the other Lucasfilm franchises, and it is a shame that it didn't do better in theaters, as we probably would have had a few more Lucasfilm action films to fill the gap in the 90's before the first Star Wars prequel was released.Having Willow on DVD is great, I just wish it were a little more fleshed out with the addition of deleted scenes. Mostly, I’m sad that we never got the Willow that we deserved. That really bums me out. It was possible, especially with Davis on board. Willow got off to a terrible start right out the gates. The show’s tone felt directed at a teenage demographic that doesn’t exist—but fits squarely outside the demographic most interested in this kind of fantasy: Kids and their parents. There’s a way to craft a story that appeals to younger kids and their parents and the blueprint is the Willow film. If you want to ignore both those crucial demographics and target teens with a CW-style romance, you have Willow the TV show. The problem? I’m not sure even most teenagers like shows that so badly misunderstand how teenagers think these days. It’s just too cheesy. That being said, series creator Jonathan Kasdan did release a lengthy statement after news of the Willow series' cancellation broke made it sound like he's somewhat hopeful that the show does still have a future.