It has been decades since George Lucas’ 1988 fantasy-adventure film Willow captured viewers’ imaginations globally. Now once again the world of fantasy film has risen with an all-new action-adventure sequel of the same name on Disney+ Hotstar with new episodes dropping every week.
Introducing a new generation of viewers to the magic and wonder of the fantasy-adventure film, the new series will see Warwick Davis reprising the titular role of Willow Ufgood, the aspiring sorcerer who is now High Aldwyn of the Nelwyn people. Joining Davis is Joanne Whaley as Queen Sorsha, Dempsey Bryk as Prince Airk, Ruby Cruz as Prince Airk’s sister, and Ellie Bamber, Erin Kellyman, Tony Revolori, and Amar Chada-Patel in other prominent roles.
Written and executive produced by showrunner Jonathan Kasdan with Ron Howard and Roopesh Parekh as executive producers, the series walks a tonal line between epic fantasy, comedy, and a reverence for the original with a contemporary edge.
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It was of special importance to the filmmakers that the series be filmed in Wales, which is where the 1988 movie was filmed. “We tried to find a collection of locations because we wanted to give a sense of the journey that our characters go through. We wanted each of the landscapes to feel like a totally different kingdom as if they were in a different part of the world, and that is one of the great things about Wales; they have an abundance of gorgeous locations available,” said executive producer Roopesh Parekh.
John Hampian, vice president of physical production at Lucasfilm, further explained the richness of the locations of Wales and said, “Initially, that is what caught our eyes. The fact that you could be in a forest and just five miles away is an amazing quarry, a brilliant water feature just down the road, and caves that you cannot find anywhere else – that caught our attention and convinced us to bring ‘Willow’ to Wales.”
Meanwhile, Lynwen Brennan, Lucasfilm’s executive vice president, and general manager, who is also a Wales native, said, “Wales has this unique combination of beautiful, natural, timeless landscapes, mountains, quarries, waterfalls, beaches, and industrial sets as well. There was this real richness and variety that was available to us, and it had these great stage facilities as well. And there’s great talent in Wales; the quality of the craftsmanship of the crew was just incredible.”
Locations utilized by the production include Gloucestershire’s woodland gardens at the Lydney Park Estate and at the Clearwell Caves in the Forest of Dean. The Caves were the ideal location for Willow Ufgood’s Nelwyn village, which was constructed 300 feet below the surface.
Other areas of Wales include the gorgeous expanse of mountains in Snowdonia in the northwest, the picturesque beaches at Pendine Sands on the south coast, and the plains and mountains of Brecon Beacons National Park in the South.
Along with Jonathan, the series is also written by John Bickerstaff, Julia Cooperman, Bob Dolman, Hannah Friedman, Rayna McClendon, Wendy Mericle, and Stu Selonick with Kathy Kennedy, Michelle Rejwan, Tommy Harper, Wendy Mericle, Roopesh Parekh, and Samie Kim Falvey serving as executive producers.
Watch Willow Trailer
Catch the non-stop adventure and magic of Willow in English and Hindi only on Disney+ Hotstar.
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