Willow Showrunner Jon Kasdan Finds Peace In Knowing Fans Are Impossible To Please [Exclusive]
It's something of a miracle that a television series based on Ron Howard's '80s action fantasy "Willow" even exists at all. If it wasn't for the streaming wars between major studios where every piece of mineable intellectual property has become viable again, the continuation of Willow Ufgood's (Warwick Davis) story would probably never have had a second chapter. Now that the Disney+ series has finished its eight-episode run, fans can look back and decide for themselves whether the show was really necessary, or if the original adventure was enough.
Created and shepherded by showrunner Jon Kasdan ("Solo: A Star Wars Story"), the series picks up 20 years after the events of the original, seeing Willow and his team of misfits helping to protect Elora Danan, the child of prophecy who was only a baby in the first movie. Willow mentors Elora and begins to teach her the tenets of magic and wizardry. That premise feels like a natural extension of the original tale, and one that Kasdan has been eager to explore. If the fans think they're truly passionate about the first film, Kasdan probably loves it even more. While the general consensus has been fairly positive, there's also been a vocal minority that haven't been exactly kind to the series and its fairly predictable setup and execution.
In a new interview with /Film, Kasdan spoke openly about the change in tone that rubbed some folks the wrong way. "You sort of know, I think, going into these things that, particularly when you take a big swing as we did with 'Willow' — to sort of tonally and in terms of making it something very specific and different from the movie — that certain people will embrace that and certain people won't."
'You're never going to please everyone'
Especially after the mixed reaction to "Solo" — the somewhat unnecessary origin story of the rogue smuggler Han Solo — Kasdan (who co-wrote that screenplay with his father Lawrence Kasdan) is certainly familiar with fan backlash. For what it's worth, "Solo" was made for and by diehard "Star Wars" fans that would actually get a kick out of references to characters like Aurra Singh and gasp at the return of Darth Maul. "Willow" is no different, with Kasdan peppering in numerous connections to the 1988 original. What he went through with "Star Wars" is similar to what Rian Johnson experienced with the incredibly divisive second entry in the sequel trilogy, "The Last Jedi."
This is all to say that Kasdan understands that you can't please everyone. Kasdan, it appears, has learned to value every opinion as long as he continues to follow his heart, just like Willow does. Kasdan told /Film:
"What's nice about that dynamic and that knowledge that I'm sort of privy to is that it makes it possible to embrace every opinion that people have and relate to every opinion people have. So there's a real satisfaction — or rather a peace, I guess — in knowing that you're never going to please everyone and that you could just try to follow your heart and your gut and express your love for this stuff in the best way you know how."
Beloved characters like Luke Skywalker or Willow Ufgood can stay in a sort of stasis in the memories of fans, but in order for them to fully grow, they have to change when the story continues.