Forget everything you know and lose yourself in the first trailer for Willow

The 1988 fantasy movie Willow was underrated at the time, but it’s now a fantasy cult classic. Disney+ bets on the strength of its nostalgic appeal with the new fantasy series Willow, is set decades after the events of the first film. And now we have an official trailer, which debuted at D23 Expo.

As we reported before, the original Willow was directed by Ron Howard, and it told the story of a child with a rune birthmark that was prophesied to cause the downfall of the evil sorceress Queen Bavmorda. The child was floated on a grass raft and found by a village of small people (the Nelwyn). A Nelwyn dwarf wizard named Willow led a group to find a community of Daikini (tall people) to raise the baby. Many magical adventures followed.

The Oscar-nominated film debuted to mixed reviews, but made a decent showing at the box office, earning $137.6 million worldwide — though it never became the blockbuster hit producer George Lucas had hoped. Lucas and Davis had already discussed the possibility of a sequel series back in 2005, but Disney+ didn’t give the project the green light until October 2020, with Howard on board as executive producer.

The series looks and sounds like a promising return to that world. Among other positive signs, Warwick Davis returns as the Nelwyn dwarf wizard Willow Ufgood. (Davis was onstage for the trailer’s introduction at D23 Expo.) The official synopsis describes the series as “an epic period fantasy series with a modern sensibility set in an enchanted land of breathtaking beauty” — so very much in same spirit as the original movie. It goes on:

The story began with an aspiring magician from a Nelwyn village and a baby girl destined to unite the realms, who together helped to destroy an evil queen and banish the forces of darkness. Now, in a magical world where leprechauns, wizards, trolls and other mystical creatures thrive, the adventure continues as an unlikely group of heroes embark on a perilous quest to places far beyond their home, where they can unleash their inner demons and come together to save the world.

In addition to Davis’s return, Joanne Whalley is back as Sorsha, daughter of the defeated Queen Bavmorda from the original film, and a skilled warrior in her own right. Kevin Pollak reprises his role as the gnome Rool, who brings a little levity to the proceedings. Unfortunately, Val Kilmer is recovering from throat cancer and so was unable to return as Madmartigan’s mercenary. But we’ve learned from the panelists that Christian Slater will join the cast as a friend of the swordsman, described only as “a character who supports the quest.” So Madmartigan will be there in mind.

The new characters are Erin Kellyman as a servant named Jade, who is training to become a warrior; Ruby Cruz as Jade’s best friend Kit, Sorsha’s daughter, who throws a party to save her twin brother; Ellie Bamber as a kitchen maid named Dove; and Amar Chadha-Patel as a thief named Boorman, who is promised his freedom in exchange for helping the party. Ralph Ineson plays Commander Ballantine, Adwoah Aboa plays Scorpia, Kenny Knight plays Keene, Alexis Rodney plays Lachlan, Charlie Rawes plays Toth, and Talisa Garcia plays a queen and mother of the as-yet-unnamed character played by Tony Revolori. Dempsey Bryk and Rosabell Laurenti Sellers are cast in unknown roles.

The trailer opens with a mysterious voiceover: “You think you know what’s real and what’s not. What’s light, what’s dark. Now forget everything you know. Come with me.” Cut to Sorsha and say ‘Willow’. She sends Kit to find the wizard and ask for his help in rescuing her kidnapped son because the world needs his magic again. Of course, Willow agrees to help, leading them “beyond the edge of our world into the unknown”. There’s an unnamed enemy that “assembles the forces of evil,” Willow says. “And the only thing standing in his way is us.”

Pollak’s brief appearance as Rool – and maybe that’s Franjean with him? – was the clear highlight for me. He’s excited to see his old friend Willow again, in fact mimicking the storyline of the first movie: “Just like old times. Run! Horses! Chaos! Chaos! Happy kissing ending!” Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. And it looks like the series will serve up a lot more of the same.

Willow debuts on Disney+ on November 30, 2022.

Ad image by Disney+