[News] The much loved '80s fantasy movie is getting a small-screen follow-up on

[AL_MAOT]

The 1988 adventure Willow was George Lucas's next big fantasy movie after he'd wrapped up the Star Wars trilogy five years earlier. Although the film wasn't a big box office hit at the time, it has since developed a cult following, and there have been various rumors of a potential sequel over the years. It's now been confirmed that Disney+ is making Willow TV show.

As reported by Variety, the Willow series will be set many years after the film and will once again star Warwick Davis as Willow Ufgood, the film's heroic main character. Ron Howard, who directed the movie, will executive produce, while Crazy Rich Asians director Jon M. Chu will helm the pilot. The showrunners will be Jonathan Kasdan, who co-wrote Howard's Star Wars spin-off Solo, and Wendy Mericle, who was co-showrunner on The CW's Arrow. The show will start production next year.

 

Now Playing: Disney Plus: 9 Great '80s Movies To Watch

In a statement, Chu said, "Growing up in the '80s, Willow has had a profound effect on me. The story of the bravest heroes in the least likely places allowed me, an Asian-American kid growing up in a Chinese restaurant looking to go to Hollywood, to believe in the power of our own will, determination and of course, inner magic. So the fact that I get to work with my heroes from Kathleen Kennedy to Ron Howard is bigger than a dream come-true. It's a bucket-list moment for me. Jon Kasdan and Wendy Mericle have added such groundbreaking new characters and delightful surprises to this timeless story that I can't wait for the world to come along on this epic journey with us."

Willow also starred Val Kilmer and Joanne Whalley, and focused on a quest to save a baby from an evil queen. The movie grossed $137.6 million worldwide from a reported $35 million budget. Discussions of a potential follow-up go back as far as 2005, when Lucas expressed an interest in making a Willow show. In 2018, Howard stated that there had been discussions about making a sequel.

In related news, The Mandalorian Season 2 premieres on Disney+ on October 30. A new trailer for the second season of the hit Star Wars show was revealed earlier this week. In addition, star Pedro Pascal and showrunner Jon Favreau have both weighed in on the possibility of a Mandalorian movie.