The Disney+ fantasy series Willow will not be continuing to a second season any time soon as the streamer has released the cast and crew from their contracts. Creator Jon Kasdan insists this is not a cancellation, though, and that a second season could still happen (more on that below). The show acted as a sequel to the 1988 George Lucas film of the same name and Warwick Davis returned in the title role. I had thought that this one had a chance of earning a second-season renewal, but the announcement does not come as a huge surprise in the current streaming environment. The show did not make it into the Nielsen Streaming Rankings for originals during its first season run even though it received generally good marks from critics and viewers (it currently holds an 83% Fresh Rating and a 66% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes).
The original film was not considered a huge hit, and the series did not receive much promotion, so it had a hard time attracting an audience. The streaming services are also currently trying to cut costs on content spending, and even though Willow was not as expensive as other streaming originals like Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power or Netflix’s The Sandman, it was still a costly production. But according to Deadline, Willow is still considered an important IP for Lucasfilm, so they may return to the property at a future date. The first season wrapped up most of its storylines, but it also left open the possibility for another chapter. For now, though, the story will end there. (You can read my review of the series at this link.) Disney+ has also cancelled several non-genre originals recently, so the prospects of She-Hulk and Ms. Marvel–still waiting for word on their fates–do not look good at this point.
After the announcement of Willow coming to an end hit the entertainment media last week, the show’s creator Jon Kasdan spoke out to refute the claims that it was cancelled. He said that “a decision was made last week to release our main cast for other series opportunities that may arise for them in the coming year” and that neither he nor Lucasfilm considered it a cancellation. He went on to say the following:
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. It’s further trivialized by the simple reality that the scripts we’ve been working on require just as many actors (from our first season) with whom no such contractual hold exists. Nothing prevented Annabelle Davis, for example, from taking another show, but you better believe Mims appears in every single Volume II chapter.
You can read his full comments at this link. If the show were to have a second season, it would not start filming for at least twelve months. For now, I will consider this one ended with the chance that it could return at a future date. And fans should definitely show their support to improve its chances of returning.
With Willow coming to an end, along with the confirmation that Star Trek: Picard‘s third season will be its last, that brings the Cancellation/Renewal Score for the current season to 28 cancelled and ending shows (38% of shows tracked) vs. 24 renewed (33%). You can see the detailed list of shows from the current season and keep up with the score throughout the week at our Cancellation Watch Page.
In Willow, the title character–who is a Nelwyn sorcerer–is joined by an unlikely group of heroes who must save the kidnapped prince of Tir Asleen while also helping Elora Danan–the child from the original film and future empress of Tir Asleen–fulfill her destiny. It stars Warwick Davis, Ellie Bamber, Ruby Cruz, Erin Kellyman, Tony Revolori, and Amar Chadha-Patel.
We are well into the current season and there are still more cancellations and renewals on the way, so be sure to stay tuned to this site for news and updates. You can see the status of all the currently airing and returning sci fi and fantasy shows on our Cancellation Watch Page. And be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for breaking news.
CancelledSciFi.com: Keep up with the status updates of all the airing, returning, and upcoming sci fi and fantasy shows for the current season with our Cancellation Watch posts. And be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for breaking news and updates.
SciFiTVSite.com: Follow our Sci Fi TV Schedule for all the currently airing and upcoming sci fi and fantasy television shows, and you can see the premieres for all the upcoming genre entries at this link.
Kasdan is smoking some serious hopium and probably his ego can’t deal with the fact that Willow is done.