Willow Writer Addresses Series’ Impending Disney+ Removal

Fans were already disappointed enough when it was revealed that Disney+ wasn’t moving forward on a follow-up season of Willow, but things were made all the more frustrating when it was revealed that the original series was going to be removed from the platform entirely in the coming days. Despite these understandably distressing details about the series, writer Jonathan Kasdan took to Twitter in hopes of alleviating some of those stressors from fans, ambiguously teasing that this won’t be the end of Willow, even if he can’t confirm that the project will assuredly return in either a streaming platform or physical media release in the future.

“I’ve been quiet on this news that Willow is leaving [Disney+] ’cause… I’m kinda into it. I grew up at a time when [Disney] movies were periodically re-released and not available to own, and it made them… more special. I worry about many things…but NONE of them are that Willow will never be available again, either on [Disney+] or perhaps… someplace else, & ya never know where that could lead… stranger things have happened,” Kasdan shared on Twitter. “So grateful for all the love and enthusiasm; it’s truly what keeps these worlds alive.”

Disney+ is only the latest streamer to remove original content that was developed specifically for a streaming platform that didn’t have a physical release, with Warner Bros. Discovery largely kicking off the frustrating trend of content removal from their platforms. 

Based on Kasdan’s comments, it’s hard to deduce whether he has inside information about the series’ future or if he is merely offering hopeful speculation. Back in March, the cast of Willow was released from their contracts, which signaled to some that the series was cancelled definitively, though Kasdan offered his own take on this decision.

“A decision was made last week to release our main cast for other series opportunities that may arise for them in the coming year,” Kasdan explained in a statement at the time. “With all the TV and movies in production around the world, it feels unfair to limit an actor’s availability without a clear sense of when you’re going to need them again. It’s further triviliased by the simple reality that the scripts we’ve been working on require just as many actors with whom no such contractual hold exists.”  

He added, “But here’s what’s equally true: 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!)”

Stay tuned for details on the possible future of Willow.

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