Disney+’s upcoming Willow sequel series has added three actors to its cast. Deadline reports that Ellie Bamber (Nocturnal Animals), Cailee Spaeny (The Craft: Legacy), and Erin Kellyman (Solo) will play the trio of female leads in the series opposite Warwick Davis reprising his role as the titular lead from the 1988 movie. The three young women are members of a group on a mission to save a captive prince. Bamber is Dove, a kitchenmaid who learns she is the “chosen one.” Spaeny plays Kit, the captured prince’s twin sister. Kellyman is playing Jade, who is Kit’s servant and best friend.
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Jon M. Chu (In The Heights, Crazy Rich Asians) will direct the show’s pilot episode and serve as its executive producer with showrunners Jonathan Kasdan (Solo) and Wendy Mericle (Arrow). Kasdan wrote the pilot.
“Growing up in the ’80s, Willow has had a profound effect on me,” Chu said in the original announcement. “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.”
Ron Howard, who directed the original Willow movie, is an executive producer on the series. Bob Dolman, who wrote the film, is serving as a consulting producer.
“It’s creatively exciting to not only revisit the world and characters first conceived by George Lucas, Bob Dolman and myself but to see it take flight in such fresh, fun and cinematic ways through the imagination of Jon Kasdan and Team Willow,” says Howard. “This isn’t a nostalgic throw-back, it’s a creative lean-forward and it’s a blast to be a part of it all.”
“So many fans have asked me over the years if Willow will make a return, and now I’m thrilled to tell them that he will indeed,” says Davis. “Many have told me they grew up with Willow and that the film has influenced how they view heroism in our own world. If Willow Ufgood can represent the heroic potential in all of us, then he is a character I am extremely honored to reprise.”
“This is an exciting new era for storytelling at Lucasfilm,” said Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy. “Jon Chu’s vision, coupled with the writing of Jon Kasdan and Wendy Mericle, is going to take Willow into new and exciting directions for the series. Reuniting Ron Howard and Warwick Davis in the world of Willow is something that they’ve both wanted to do for some time, and I couldn’t be more proud of the incredible team we’ve put together to bring this series to Disney+.”
