Movies - TV
How The Pivot From Feature To Series Allowed Willow To Honor George Lucas
By SANDY SCHAEFER
George Lucas may be best known for “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones,” but the filmmaker has also been creatively involved in everything from “Labyrinth” to Ron Howard’s 1988 fantasy film “Willow.” Fast forward to today, and “Willow” is getting a sequel as a Disney+ series, and according to writer Jonathan Kasdan, the longer form better honors Lucas’ original vision.
Although “Willow” is a fantasy show, it contains more “youthful irreverence” than most, which was a deliberate choice. Kasdan elaborated, “…it's baked into the brand … [Lucas] knew the right pitch between serious and funny and joyful and loose… the tone of it was what set George's work apart … And it was so specific and we just wanted to honor that tone."
Aside from preserving Lucas’ tone, the transition from film to series has allowed the team to focus more in dept on its characters. Considering that much of the original film is spent depicting fights and chases, an in-depth look at supporting characters seems like a welcome change, but we’ll have to wait until the show’s November 30th premiere to know for sure.