Willow Star Explains How the Mudmander Was Brought To Life

The newest episode of Willow, “Beyond the Shattered Sea,” followed Willow (Warwick Davis) and the rest of his party as they embarked on the biggest obstacle of their journey to find the kidnapped Airk (Dempsey Bryk). They encounter some interesting characters along the way, including an adorable creature called a Mudmander who helps pull their ship across the Shattered Sea. Graydon (Tony Revolori) befriends the Mudmander and names him Kenneth. During a recent chat with SyFy, Revolori revealed that Kenneth was completely practical. (Note: In the interview, the creature’s name is spelled “Kennerh,” but the Disney+ subtitles say “Kenneth.”) 

“Yeah, no, it was all practical,” Revolori shared. “I think it was like four or five guys controlling remote controlling the eyes, the mouth, the opening, the lids, eyebrows, all the things. So it was real. Being able to act with something there, it was so much fun to kind of be like a stage play almost with them where they’d say, ‘Ok, I’ll open the eyes here and do that.’ It was so much fun. It kind of brought me back and made me feel like this is what they did on Jurassic Park and all those Jim Henson movies, which was so cool.

He continued, “And then the name Kennerh, that came from Jon. But we improvised a lot. I think the [take in the show is, “I’m gonna name you, Kennerh, after the lead protagonist of my romance novel.” We ended up going with hundreds of improvisations of like, “I’m gonna name you Kennerh, after my favorite band member, or Kennerh, after my favorite uncle.” We did a bunch and I hope they release that at some point.” 

Does Tony Revolori Play the Flute in Willow? 

One of Graydon’s skills in Willow is the ability to play the flute, but Revolori isn’t actually playing the instrument onscreen.

 “So yes and no,” Revolori told ComicBook.com when asked if he learned to play the flute for Willow. “So I did, and then they told me that the flute was nonfunctional, so I couldn’t learn to, I was like, even though I kind of started taking lessons, they were like, ‘Oh, the flute’s not actually, you can’t, it’s not functional.’ I was like, ‘Well then what was the point?’ So I kept whistling during all those moments because I could still whistle all the things on my lips … And I would just hum or whistle like ‘Indiana Jones,’ ‘Imperial March,’ and everyone would be laughing and cracking up and then the producers were like, ‘Something we can use’ … ‘I’m like … Lucasfilm owns all of it. What do you mean you can’t use it?’ He joked, “Would’ve been a great easter egg.” 

The first seven episodes of Willow are now streaming on Disney+.