Once upon a time, Ron Howard and George Lucas wanted to try to replicate the success of Star Wars by creating a new fantasy, Willow. The film premiered in 1988, and although I personally have some very important and good memories of it, I am a rarity. The film only worked well at the box office, and all the nascent plans for a sequel were put on ice.
Now, 34 years later, we have an entire series dedicated to the titular wizard of Warwick Davis. No longer a trained magician, Willow now has a staff and can seemingly do magic beyond misleading people into a wide variety of animals. The trailer for the new show includes some returning characters, including Joanne Whalley’s Sorsha and at least one of the brownies (played by Kevin Pollak and Rick Overton in the film).
The rest of the cast of the new show was probably not even alive when the movie was released, but they certainly have a lot to do. There’s a lot of magic, fighting with swords, kisses and exceptionally wild hair in the trailer, which premiered in Star Wars Celebration. The new show premieres on November 30 at Disney Plus. It is an absolutely millennial bait destined to attract us with extreme nostalgia. With this trailer, at least it worked.