Posted on Monday, January 11th, 2021 by Chris Evangelista
The Disney+ Willow TV series has lost its director. Crazy Rich Asians filmmaker Jon M. Chu was locked in to direct the show’s pilot episode and serve as executive producer, but Chu took to social media today to announce that he has to leave the project. Chu cited continued lockdowns in the UK and the future arrival of a new baby as the reasoning behind stepping away from the series.
Posted on Monday, November 30th, 2020 by Ben Pearson
Willow, the Disney+ series set years after the events of the 1988 fantasy movie, is currently negotiating with three actresses to play three primary roles in the upcoming show. Ellie Bamber (Nocturnal Animals), Cailee Spaeny (Pacific Rim: Uprising), and Erin Kellyman (Solo: A Star Wars Story) are all in talks to play the female leads, and you can read more about their characters below. Read More »
Posted on Tuesday, October 20th, 2020 by Chris Evangelista
We’ve heard rumblings of a Willow TV series, and now it’s official. Jon M. Chu, director of Crazy Rich Asians and In the Heights, is set to direct a Willow TV series for Disney+, with Willow star Warwick Davis returning as Willow Ufgood. Ron Howard, who directed the film, is also on board as executive producer. Released in 1988, the fantasy epic Willow came from a story by George Lucas, and while it was not the huge blockbuster Lucasfilm was hoping for, it turned a profit – and developed a strong following thanks to home video.
Posted on Thursday, February 6th, 2020 by Chris Evangelista
In this edition of Sequel Bits:
Posted on Friday, January 10th, 2020 by Hoai-Tran Bui
The doors have opened for a Willow sequel series on Disney+. After Ron Howard teased that Solo writer Jonathan Kasdan was in discussions with Disney+ to revive the director’s 1988 epic fantasy film in the form of a TV series, Kasdan has fed nostalgia-hungry fans another cryptic morsel to keep up the hype. But while Kasdan has seemingly started work on a Willow sequel series, original film star Warwick Davis cautions that nothing is totally official yet.
Posted on Friday, January 10th, 2020 by Chris Evangelista
(Welcome to Now Stream This, a column dedicated to the best movies streaming on Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and every other streaming service out there.)
It’s time for a whole new year of Now Stream This. In this week’s streaming column, you’ll find one of last year’s best movies, a breezy modern Steven Spielberg movie, a mind-bending blockbuster from Christopher Nolan, a mostly forgotten ’90s thriller, a crime drama, and more. These are the best movies streaming right now.
Posted on Wednesday, May 1st, 2019 by Hoai-Tran Bui
Ron Howard‘s 1988 epic fantasy film Willow has become the latest nostalgic property that has rallied fans to call for a sequel. And while the director has entertained rumors in the past year with vague mentions of “discussions” with Lucasfilm and Disney, a Willow sequel project may finally be happening. Howard confirmed that a Willow sequel series may soon be heading to Disney+.
Posted on Thursday, November 1st, 2018 by Fred Topel
The American Cinematheque hosted a tribute to Ron Howard over the weekend, concluding with a screening of Willow. Howard and screenwriter Bob Dolman gave a Q&A after the screening and one of the stories they shared was about how the wife of The Hero’s Journey writer Joseph Campbell inspired a line that Howard put in the film. But the story begins earlier when producer George Lucas invited the filmmakers to dinner with the Campbells.
Posted on Thursday, November 1st, 2018 by Fred Topel
Final cut is the privilege all directors want and only a select few can claim: the power to deliver their cut of the film without studio interference. Ron Howard is one director who has such clout, and he’s earned it with Oscar-nominated and winning films like Apollo 13 and A Beautiful Mind, and crowd-pleasers like Coccoon, Splash and Backdraft.
Willow was actually the first movie on which Howard received final cut, the director revealed at an American Cinematheque screening celebrating his work. He has producer George Lucas to thank for it.
Posted on Tuesday, October 30th, 2018 by Fred Topel
Willow was one of George Lucas’ post-Star Wars projects. While the latter was Lucas’s take on a space epic, Willow was his take on sword and sorcery. The Wookiepedia entry for Willow collects some sources that suggest Willow is actually part of that galaxy far, far away , perhaps on one planet in the Star Wars universe.
Wookiepedia cites the April Fool’s Joke that started this theory, yet the entry remains. At an American Cinematheque Q&A following a 70mm screening of Willow, director Ron Howard refuted the theory once and for all.
