Willow Disney+ Sequel Show Gets 2022 Release Date, Starts Production Soon

There were a lot of new Disney+ shows announced during this week's Disney investor presentation, and while much of the focus was on Star Wars and Marvel, we did learn a bit more about some other highly anticipated projects. One of these was the upcoming Willow series.

Willow is set to be a sequel to Ron Howard and George Lucas's much-loved 1988 fantasy movie of the same title. Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy spoke about the series and revealed when and where it will start shooting.

"This series will be set decades after Ron Howard's 1988 movie, continuing the spirit of adventure, heroics, and humor of the original film," Kennedy said. "We're delighted that Wawick Davis will be returning in the role of the great sorcerer Willow Ufgood. We have a wonderful creative team at the helm. John Chu, director of the groundbreaking film Crazy Rich Asians, will be directing the pilot. Willow begins shooting next March in Wales and will debut on Disney+ in 2022."

Last month, other members of the cast were revealed. Ellie Bamber (Nocturnal Animals), Cailee Spaeny (The Craft: Legacy), and Erin Kellyman (Solo: A Star Wars Story) will play three main roles, although details about their characters have not been revealed yet.

The showrunners for the Willow series will be Jonathan Kasdan, who co-wrote Solo, and Wendy Mericle, who was co-showrunner on The CW's Arrow. Howard will act as executive producer. In October, he stated that the show wouldn't be a "nostalgic throw-back [but] a creative lean-forward."

The movie also starred Val Kilmer and Joanne Whalley, and focused on a quest to save a baby from an evil queen. Discussions of a potential follow-up go back as far as 2005, when Lucas expressed an interest in making a Willow show. In 2018, Howard stated that there had been discussions about making a sequel.