Calling all eighties children: cult classic Willow is making a return to the screen.
The trailer for the new Disney+ series, which dropped on Thursday, promises a November 30 release date and stars Warwick Davis as returning hero Willow Ufgood.
The original 1988 film, which was directed by Ron Howard, introduced us to Willow, a farmer and aspiring sorcerer of the Nelwyn people who is suddenly thrust into the spotlight when he is charged with caring for a baby of legend, who appears one night in his village.
The baby, born with a rune birthmark, is foretold to bring about the death of the evil Queen Bavmorda of Nockmaar (who is hunting her for this reason), and Willow is charged with delivering her to safety. Naturally, things don’t go to plan and the baby is kidnapped - but ultimately Bavmorda is defeated.
In the new series, which is set twenty years after the original, a new group of heroes will go on the hunt for the legendary Willow.
The rebooted show will star Davis alongside newcomers Ellie Bamber, Erin Kellyman, Tony Revolori and Cailee Spaeny, and Stephen Woolfenden will direct the pilot.
In the trailer, we see flashes from the original film, alongside clips of the new characters, swordfights and mysterious villains in dark masks.
Though there’s no confirmed appearance of the fated child, Elora Danan, it also seems likely that she will make a reappearance in the sequel.
“There is a balance between all things,” Davis’ character says in the voiceover.
“Light and shadow, good and evil. When that balance is upset, the universe corrects.”
“The world needs you again,” one of the new characters tells Willow. “It needs your magic.”
Though Willow was not a hit when it was released, it has since gone onto become a cult classic and was nominated for several Academy Awards (as well as two Golden Raspberries).
Davis and George Lucas had discussed the possibility of reviving the franchise from as early as 2005, with a reboot eventually greenlit in 2020.
“Many [fans] have told me they grew up with Willow and that the film has influenced how they view heroism in our own world,” Davis has said of his close relationship with the character.
“If Willow Ufgood can represent the heroic potential in all of us, then he is a character I am extremely honored to reprise.”
