Despite being a moderate success when it debuted in 1988, “Willow” quickly became a cult phenomenon among the generation that then saw it on film. Almost 35 years later, the story of the Andowyne kingdom about a peasant who will protect a baby from a queen who wants to destroy him so that she can control the world through magic is back, now in series format. ” premieres this Wednesday, November 30th, on Disney +, and again features Warwick Davis in the role of protagonist – before the film of the late 1980s, the actor, who is a dwarf, had already participated in the saga “Star Wars”, full of characterization, like the Ewok Wicket, and debuted in this film as the protagonist and with his face very visible. The epic of “sword and sorcery” signed by Ron Howard and produced by George Lucas was a rarity in cinema of the time, more oriented towards science fiction than fantasy, and ended up leaving a fond memory among fans. WILLOW” data-title=”WILLOW – “Willow” is back to kill nostalgia and conquer new fans, always with “magic, heart and life lessons” – SAPO Mag”>
From 2005, with many advances and setbacks, the possibility of a sequel, in cinema or television, began to be discussed. “I don’t know if sequels have been talked about in the past, I’m not sure if there was anything official or if it was the fans demanding to see Willow again. So, as far as I know, nothing started and stopped afterwards”, begins by telling Warwick Davis in conversation with reporters.”With the series, everything seemed to line up perfectly (…) Jonathan Kasdan and Ron Howard started talking about how much they loved ‘Willow’… us the influence that the film had for him to start writing at a young age and he said: ‘do you think there is room to continue the story?’. And both spoke a lot about the subject”, recalls the protagonist. the creator of the new Disney+ series, adds that the film marked his childhood: “I loved the film as a fan, I was a child and grew up watching it. I think one of the gifts of this age of entertainment is that these productions are being exploited by people who adore them. For me, ‘Willow’ is above anything”. WILLOW” data-title=”WILLOW – “Willow” is back to kill nostalgia and conquer new fans, always with “magic, heart and life lessons” – SAPO Mag”>
When he first dressed as Willow, Warwick Davis was just 17 years old. Now, aged 52, he confesses that he has experienced a different challenge. “I feel really good getting back into character. The main challenges for me were… well, first of all, I’m a lot older now, when I did the first movie I was 17. But all the action, the side the role did not bother me at all. But when you are 52 years old, all these things become a little more difficult and cause some discomfort”, confesses Warwick Davis in conversation with journalists. “So instead of fighting it, I embraced the fact that I’m older now and maybe a little less physically capable and brought that into the character,” he adds. For the actor, Jonathan Kasdan managed to bring “a good amount of humor to the script” and “it was a surprise”. “I think a lot of fans will appreciate that Willow doesn’t take herself too far into the show as she did in the movie. John wanted that to continue on the show, so I found it surprising that the script was so funny,” admits the actor. Jonathan Kasdan stresses, still, that there were “many challenges” throughout the creation of the series. “One thing that is true is that, unlike ‘Star Wars’, there was no blueprint for ‘Willow’. It is a product completely made of love… a true labor of love”, underlines the creator. WILLOW” data-title=”WILLOW – “Willow” is back to kill nostalgia and conquer new fans, always with “magic, heart and life lessons” – SAPO Mag”>
“It’s always a challenge to make a sequel to something that captured a certain audience – they fell in love with the characters at one point, many of the fans during childhood. Then, later on, when you go back to the story there’s a hope of renewing the connection”, he adds. The series also promises to conquer new audiences, who have never seen the film, and began to fall in love with the young people in the cast. “I know none of us had seen the original before joining the series, but now we love the movie. It’s so special,” says Ruby Cruz, who plays Kit in “Willow”. funny, John did a great job and made it fun”, adds Dempsey Bryk, young actor who plays Airk. For Ruby Cruz (Kit) it was also special to join the series. “It felt like we were all at university”, he says, underlining the good atmosphere experienced during the recordings of the new Disney+ production. story. We’re going to explore more of Willow’s world, which we’ve already seen a small glimpse of in the movie. You don’t have to see the movie to see the series, it’s not essential.” and you will be more familiar. The series has a lot of humor, it’s fun and we brought that spirit to the movie. There’s a lot of magic, heart and some life lessons in between. If you believe in something hard enough, you can do it – this is the great lesson for the world we live in”, summarizes the protagonist.