Joe Kasdan Expains The Legacy Of 'Willow' A Film Close To His Dad's Heart

Children of the 80s have something to rejoice about as one of the more obscure, single movie cult properties is returning to Disney+.

That film in question is Willow, the George Lucas written and produced fantasy property by director Ron Howard which tells the story of Willow Ufgood (Warwick Davis), an aspiring diminutive wizard who proves his mettle by protecting a prophesied baby from the evil machinations of a witch hellbent on taking over the land. Accompanied by Madmatigan, the Han Solo-Esque, handsome rogue played by Val Kilmer. Together they go on a hero's quest to save their lands from the evil Queen Babmorda, who is hellbent on sacrificing the baby for her own personal gain.

Writer of the series, Joe Kasdan, son of producer Lawrence Kasdan, whose dad had a long legacy with George Lucas properties such as Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Raiders of the Lost Arc, talked about how the new show is trying to keep the tone of the original while adding a new generation of characters to the Disney+ series. 

"It's a whole new thing. From the moment I got involved in Star Wars with George, with Kathy, with my dad, I saw an opportunity here with Willow to bring this story back. I knew that Warwick was eager to do it, to play it again, and then when Ron came and worked on Solo with us, he was just as eager, too, and we let the momentum of that allow us to continue this story that the three of us really loved -- that I loved as a fan and they loved as a working experience. I just thought, 'How do I do this, and how do I give it the same fidelity that we tried to give to Solo?' There are deep cuts in the Willow show, and references to the tabletop game and references to the novelization. We went deep, and hopefully the true fan will appreciate it."

Much like Jason Reitman's Ghostbusters Afterlife, Willow the series finds the son taking over the mantle of creativity their parents left behind. It will be interesting to see what this more modern generation will do with the legacy. 

Willow will be on Disney beginning on November 30.