Warwick Davis: Val Kilmer’s ‘spirit’ lives on in new ‘Willow’ Disney+ series

Val Kilmer might not be returning to the world of Willow in a new series debuting on Disney+ this week, but his presence will very much be part of the show, star Warwick Davis says.

Davis reprises his role as farmer-turned-sorcerer Willow Ufgood alongside Joanne Whalley as the warrior queen Sorsha in the long-awaited TV sequel to the 1988 fantasy. But Kilmer, who lost his speaking voice due to throat cancer, won’t be back as the master swordsman Madmartigan, who helped Willow protect a special child from an evil sorceress in the original.

Speaking to the Sun, Davis, 52, explains that Kilmer’s character will still play a role in the follow-up to the film, which was directed by Ron Howard and produced by George Lucas.

“Val’s spirit is very much part of the series and there’s many mentions of him as we get towards the end,” Davis says in a video call from London. “Val and I have been in touch ever since the movie. I will tell you that not a day went by on the series when we were filming that I wasn’t thinking about Val, and how I’d love to have him be a part of it. But sadly, things didn’t work out on this occasion.”

Continuing the story of Willow and Madmartigan was something that Kilmer had been eager to pursue, Davis confirms.

“Val has always been a huge supporter of Willow and throughout the years he always wanted to do a sequel,” the Star Wars and Harry Potter star says. “At one point, he suggested that he and I go to New Zealand and shoot some scenes to show to George to try and see if it would inspire him (to write another one).”

Co-created by Jonathan Kasdan (who wrote Solo: A Star Wars Story and Indiana Jones 5), the new series takes place decades after the events of the first film and follows a new group of heroes led by Princess Kit (Ruby Cruz), the daughter of Sorcha and Madmartigan, as they recruit Willow to help them save the world from a dark threat.

Willow follows other classic Lucasfilm characters being brought back for continuing stories. Earlier this year, Ewan McGregor returned as Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Star Wars character he first played in 1999’s The Phantom Menace. More recently, Diego Luna starred in a spinoff-centred on Cassian Andor, his Rogue One: A Star Wars Story hero.

“There’s a lot of pressure on Willow when we find him in this series,” says Davis of this new iteration of his magical wizard. “He’s seen the good and bad in life and he’s been affected by that. Now he has a responsibility almost beyond his means.”

With the show now streaming on Disney+, Davis talked to the Sun via Zoom to discuss the pressures of making a TV series and the enduring popularity of Willow.

Willow Ufgood is such a beloved character. Was there more excitement or pressure in coming back to this world?

“There was lots of excitement, but at the same time there was lots of pressure as well. It came from all those fans who had really asked for a sequel for all these years. I wanted to make sure the show did them justice and didn’t spoil their beloved memories of the first Willow.”

I remember seeing the original in the theatre and loving it. Why do you think it has endured for all these years?

“It was a George Lucas creation and if you look at all the work George has done, they’ve always been loaded with well-rounded characters that we can identify with in some way. But there’s a great story at the heart of it as well. Although there were a lot of special effects — much like Star Wars — these characters and the story were at the heart of it. That’s the thing that people latched on to. Something can look amazing, but if it doesn’t have good characters and story at the heart of it, then it won’t really excite or be remembered.”

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I had heard talk of a sequel over the years. How does what we’re seeing in the series differ from some of the other ideas that were considered?

“There had been talk of sequels, but I think it was mainly the fans. Jon Kasdan was the catalyst behind the series. He was a fan and he got together with Ron Howard on Solo and they talked about it. It’s unusual for ideas to move quickly in Hollywood — ideas can take an upwards of five-to-10 years, by which time they lose steam. But with Willow, it was very quick.”

There’s a youthful innocence to the show, but there’s also a darkness to the story. How did you want to grow the story up for audiences?

“The series does progressively get darker, but I think that’s important. You need to have light and shade. So it gets dark to the right degree. Audiences are used to being treated to every aspect of emotion and drama in any particular series, so we felt to tell this story we had to go to those places.”

Willow is streaming now on Disney+

mdaniell@postmedia.com

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