A few days ago, Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter released a report claiming that Disney’s Willow had been cancelled after one season. The report quickly spread like wildfire-even we covered it- however, according to producer Jon Kasdan, the reports have been greatly exaggerated. Kasdan said, “neither I, nor the folks at Lucasfilm, would or have actually characterized it quite that way.”
It is also important to note that many of the show’s cast and crew took to Twitter to discuss the show’s so-called “cancellation”, among them was Amar Chadha-Patel (Boorman), who offered an incredibly sweet and heartfelt tribute to the show. So, it’s easy to see why it’s cancellation felt so real, especially with reports of Disney, as well as other streaming services, looking to reevaluate content creation.
The good news is that Willow has not been cancelled. It is, however, in a weird limbo sleep.
You can check out Kasdan’s full statement below:
The lengthy statement, which is really lovely to read especially if you loved Willow like we did, revolves primarily around the slowing of production across the entirety of the entertainment industry, as well as the cast’s commitments. “With all the tv and movies in production around the world, it feels unfair to limit an actor’s availability without a clear sense of when you’re going to need them again”, says Kasdan.
He then added, “production of streaming shows is slowing down across the entire industry, and Willow won’t resume filming in the next 12 months. But here’s what’s equally true: with the enthusiastic and unwavering support of Lucasfilm and Disney, we’ve developed and written what we hope is a brain-meltingly fun, richer, darker and better VOLUME II, which builds on the characters and story of our first eight chapters (The Wyrm survives!).”
No, Willow isn’t going anywhere, that much is clear. What’s unclear is when work on season 2 will begin. We do know that Volume II will not be filming in the next year. Fans of the show will have quite a bit of waiting to do, but it’s nice to know that Willow Ufgood and his new band of heroes still have a home on Disney+, regardless of the wait.
This is terrific news! Are you glad to see Willow safe? Let us know in the comments.
Willow stars Ellie Bamber, Ruby Cruz, Erin Kellyman, Amer Chadha-Patel and Tony Revolori. Warwick Davis returns to his role as Willow Ufgood and Joanne Whalley reprises her role as Queen Sorsha.
