Christian Slater showed up at D23 today, confirming his role in the upcoming Disney+ series Willow. Set in the world of the beloved fantasy film of the same name, Willow will bring back members of the 1980s cast and team them with new faces. There are very few details yet about his character, other than the facts that he is Madmartigan’s friend, and someone who aids in the main quest of the series.
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Bringing a beloved ’80s actor into the world of a big franchise that hasn’t had a new installment in decades feels like a no-brainer, making Slater’s warm reception at D23 easy to understand. He praised the series, and said that he was happy he got to “play” a little bit.
“Surprisingly we got to have some improvs, some ad libs,” Slater told the audience at Lucasfilm’s D23 panel. “This was definitely a fun character. Something I was really happy to do”
Speaking with our own Brandon Davis, writer Jon Kasdan emphasized the commitment to the lore of Willow’s world, discussing the process of bringing back Warwick Davis while exploring some major new territory:
“It’s a whole new thing. From the moment I got involved in Star Wars with George, with Kathy, with my dad, I saw an opportunity here with Willow to bring this story back. I knew that Warrick was eager to do it, to play it again, and then when Ron came and worked on Solo with us, he was just as eager, too, and we let the momentum of that allow us to continue this story that the three of us really loved — that I loved as a fan and they loved as a working experience. I just thought, ‘How do I do this, and how do I give it the same fidelity that we tried to give to Solo?’ There are deep cuts in the Willow show, and references to the tabletop game and references to the novelization. We went deep, and hopefully the true fan will appreciate it.”
The official description for the upcoming series bringing us back to the world of Willow, arriving on Disney+ on November 30th, reads as such:
“An epic period fantasy series with a modern sensibility set in an enchanted land of breathtaking beauty, “Willow” features a diverse international cast with Jonathan Kasdan, Ron Howard, Wendy Mericle, Kathleen Kennedy, and Michelle Rejwan serving as executive producers. The story began with an aspiring magician from a Nelwyn village and an infant girl destined to unite the realms, who together helped destroy an evil queen and banish the forces of darkness. Now, in a magical world where brownies, sorcerers, trolls, and other mystical creatures flourish, the adventure continues, as an unlikely group of heroes set off on a dangerous quest to places far beyond their home, where they must face their inner demons and come together to save their world.”
