Fantasy Willow

Kevin

Code Monkey
Staff member
Title: Willow

Genre: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Drama

First aired: 2022-11-30

Creator: Jonathan Kasdan

Cast: Warwick Davis, Ellie Bamber, Ruby Cruz, Dempsey Bryk, Erin Kellyman, Amer Chadha-Patel, Tony Revolori, Joanne Whalley, Rosabell Laurenti Sellers, Talisa Garcia, Rick Overton, Kevin Pollak, Ralph Ineson, Annabelle Davis

Overview: Many years after the events of the original film, legendary sorcerer Willow leads a group of misfit heroes on a dangerous rescue mission through a world beyond their wildest imaginations.
Willow

 
I enjoyed this one way more than I was expecting. It acts as a direct sequel to the original movie with Warwick Davis as one of the leads along with Joanne Whalley as Sorsha, some brief appearances by others like Kevin Pollack, and adds several new characters.

It's a big budget fantasy series that appeals to fans of the original movie, has plenty of snarky one-liners to make the Gen-X crowd chuckle, introduces a bunch of new characters that are in the Gen-Z demographic, and does a great job of meshing the older characters with the younger character as a cohesive team. The end result is that it doesn't ignore the older Gen-X viewers for the sake of attracting the younger Gen-Z viewers and it also doesn't exclude the younger viewers for the sake of appealing just to the older viewers who are familiar with the source material. It's a welcome change from other rebooted/sort-of sequels that end up targeting just a particular demographic (looking at you National Treasure: Edge of History).

I won't give any spoilers but the season ends with the implication that additional seasons are at least mapped out. Madmartigan (Val Kilmer) does not make an appearance but does play a role in the story line thanks to some voice over scenes and a personal connection to one of the lead characters. Christian Slater joins the cast as a character that has a connection to Madmartigan also. The end result is while Kilmer's health status wouldn't allow heavy involvement with a series, his presence is still made.

If you're watching it on Disney+ be sure to check the 'extras' tab for the "making of" short doc. The short doc is in jest, of course, and it shows how much fun it must've been for the cast to film it.
 
I enjoyed this one way more than I was expecting
... and, of course, it's been cancelled so no season two is coming. It was an entertaining show and, while S1 did finish it's main arc, it would've been a fun fantasy series that was family friendly.
 
And it's gone.

Disney has removed a few dozen titles from their streaming services in a cost saving move, including Willow. This all but ensures that not only won't we see a second season but even being able to view season one has become a lot more difficult.

 

Similar threads

Halo
Genre: Action & Adventure, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Creator: Kyle Killen, Steven Kane
First aired: 2022-03-24
Replies
3
Views
1K
Treadstone
Genre: Action & Adventure
Creator: Tim Kring
First aired: 2019-10-15
Replies
1
Views
299
NCIS: Sydney
Genre: Crime, Drama, Action & Adventure
Creator: Morgan O'Neill
First aired: 2023-11-10
Replies
4
Views
446
Back
Top