Update: It seems Willow may not have been canned after a single season in any case.
According to John Kasdan, the Disney Plus show’s head author, Willow is merely on hiatus. Even more surprisingly, Kasdan revealed that the fantasy collection is probably going coming back for a second season – Kasdan explaining as a lot in a prolonged assertion on Twitter.
“I feel fairly confident that, if asked, neither I, nor the good folks at Lucasfilm, would or have actually characterized it [the show’s cancellation] that way,” Kasdan wrote. “The truth is less splashy, but here it is: a decision was made last week to release our main cast for other series opportunities that may arise for them in the coming year. With all the TV and movies in production around the world, it feels unfair to limit an actor’s availability without a clear sense of when you’re going to need them again.”
Kasdan goes on to put in writing that he is really accomplished the scripts for a second season – Volume II, as he places it – although Willow‘s subsequent installment will not start filming in the following 12 months. “We’ve developed and written what we hope is a brain-meltingly fun, richer, darker, and better Volume II,” Kasdan added.
You can learn the assertion in full in the tweet beneath:
pic.twitter.com/Di0vEGLyTDMarch 17, 2023
Original story follows.
Willow, one of the best fantasy TV show on Disney Plus, has been cancelled after one season.
As first reported by Deadline, the collection’ spellbinding run on Disney Plus has been unceremoniously cut quick, leaving followers devastated that the cult-classic franchise will not proceed past its eight-episode run.
Lucasfilm and Disney have not explained why Willow has been dumped after a single season. However, with Disney tightening the manufacturing purse strings and Lucasfilm re-evaluating its film and TV show output – the Disney subsidiary has already shelved a variety of deliberate Star Wars movies – it seems that Willow is just a casualty of the studios’ plans to rein in spending and streamline their content map.
These streaming providers have created a self-fulfilling prophecy – they keep cancelling shows, so we’re too afraid to observe issues in case they get cancelled, after which they cancel them MORE as a result of we’re not watching them. #willow https://t.co/2YMRIgW1flMarch 15, 2023
The Willow TV collection was a small-screen follow-up to the 1988 fantasy movie of the same identify, which has over the years turn out to be a cult basic film. The sequel show, which noticed Warwick Davis return because the titular Nelwyn sorcerer, picked up 20 years after the original flick’s story, and noticed six unlikely heroes got down to search Willow’s assist in saving the world as soon as more.
Willow was an underrated hit following its Disney Plus debut, the collection garnering an 83% licensed contemporary ranking on evaluation aggregator web site Rotten Tomatoes. Despite proving widespread with followers and critics alike, nonetheless, it hasn’t executed sufficient to earn a second season on Disney’s primary streamer. Still, if nothing else, it will proceed to be the most effective Disney Plus shows round, in our opinion.
If you are in studying about its improvement, take a look at our exclusive chat with Willow‘s solid about how “everything aligned perfectly” to make the TV collection.
A fantastical show that deserved one other run-out
Willow wasn’t as profitable as different Lucasfilm-led TV initiatives, comparable to The Mandalorian or Andor. Its positioning as a TV sequel to a considerably area of interest fantasy movie did not seem to assist it win over informal viewers; and, with the show releasing in November 2022, it seemingly struggled to compete with among the finest Netflix shows that launched across the same time, comparable to megahit collection Wednesday and The Crown season 5, and 1899.
Even so, it deserved higher than to be cancelled after one season. Willow discovered a pleasant steadiness between honoring the original movie and respiratory new life into its franchise. The collection’ pleasing strategy to LGBT-plus and sapphic illustration, growth of a fantastically-developed universe, and family-friendly focus (albeit one with some thematically darkish components) positioned it as an entirely inclusive TV show, too. In quick, there was lots to admire about Willow on Disney Plus.
As different TV shows on Disney Plus – in addition to these unfortunate initiatives that have been cancelled on Netflix, Prime Video, and different streaming platforms – have came upon, although, such positives do not assure a TV collection’ renewal. Just have a look at Netflix’s widespread 1899 TV collection, which was canned after a single season, or the latest cancellation of Three Pines on Prime Video, also after one season.
Disney Plus does not have many conventional fantasy shows in its back catalog. Sure, TV collection housed within a few of its greatest franchises, together with Star Wars and Marvel, dabble in the fantasy style. Other third-party licensed collection, comparable to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, might be thought of fantasy shows in sure lights, too.
It’s a disgrace, then, that one in all Disney’s most singular fantasy collection has been scrapped so quickly after its debut. The Willow franchise deserves higher than being solid apart in this fashion, notably as – exterior of Star Wars and Indiana Jones – Willow is Lucasfilm’s most well-known leisure property. Here’s hoping it is not one other 35 years before Willow returns to the large or small display screen.
For more Disney Plus-based protection, examine one of the best Disney Plus films round. Alternatively, discover out about all the new Disney Plus films you may stream right now.