UPDATE: It turns out Willow isn’t canceled after all! Showrunner Jonathan Kasdan explains that while the cast has been released to other projects, Volume II is still in the works. We’ve got more details here!
Original story:
Well, it was nice while it lasted. Willow, Disney+’s continuation of the 1988 fantasy movie starring Warwick Davis, has been canceled after one season.
The original Willow movie gave us a beautiful world full of fairies, witches, secret princesses, and ancient prophesies (not to mention Val Kilmer as the eternally hot Madmartigan). The original story ended with Willow delivering the infant Elora Danan, fabled empress of Tir Asleen, to the safe hands of Madmartigan and Sorsha, where she could grow up to step into her destiny. The Disney+ series continued the story 16 years later, with Elora as a teenager learning about her true identity and learning sorcery in order to defeat the Crone.
The series was a whimsical, lighthearted sequel with a beautiful queer love story at its heart. Along with Elora (Ellie Bamber) and Willow, we got to see Ruby Cruz as Princess Kit and Erin Kellyman as Kit’s champion, Jade. Kit and Jade’s feelings for each other were explored throughout the season as they journeyed to find Kit’s kidnapped brother, Airk (Dempsey Bryk). Elora’s storyline was also engrossing, as she tried to learn magic and grew closer to Prince Graydon (Tony Revolori).
One of the best parts of season 1, though, was its cliffhanger ending. At the end, Graydon is captured by the Crone, and he sees a terrifying vision of a charred world filled with dragons, monsters, and fire. Presiding over the horde is Elora, dressed all in black. Seeing the real Elora turn into a tough, determined fighter was already satisfying on its own, but the thought of Ellie Bamber playing an evil double of the character was really exciting. Now we’ll never get to see it.
Willow wasn’t perfect, but few shows are. I was really looking forward to season 2, but now I’ll just have to imagine what might have come next.
(via Deadline, featured image: Disney+)
