Say grandpa, why are you getting us drunk with the sequel to “Willow”?

• The

  Willow

  series , sequel to the 1988 Ron Howard film, launches this Wednesday on Disney+.

• Warwick Davis resumes his Nelwin costume in the title role.

• How did the 1988 film become cult?

  Why is this sequel so eagerly awaited by fans?

  Genesis of the project, story, characters… We explain everything to you.

2022 will have marked a strong comeback for elves, dragons and other wizards!

After

on Netflix,

on HBO and

on Amazon Prime Video, it's Disney+'s turn to draw what could become its great heroic fantasy saga.

, an eight-part series launched this Wednesday on the big-eared platform, is the sequel to Ron Howard's 1988 eponymous feature film.

Why is this sequel so expected?

Willow

is a cult film for an entire generation.

It is this VHS that we played over and over again, children, with

, the

or even

.

The idea of ​​Willow was born in 1972 in the imagination of the creator of the galaxy far, far away...

A tribute to Tolkien's Middle Earth

George Lucas dreamed of doing his

, but didn't get the rights.

He decides to make up a story, originally titled

.

Once upon a time there was the kingdom of the Daikinis, ruled by the cruel Queen Bavmorda (Jean Marsh).

While a prediction announces the birth of a princess called to dethrone her, the terrible queen orders all the newborns to be killed here.

Elora, the baby of the prophecy, will escape the massacre like Moses.

She was taken in by a Nelwin, a small farmer named Willow Ufgoo.

This unlikely hero will embark on a quest, which will culminate in the downfall of the evil queen, aided by a cast of friends including the fairy Cherlindrea (Maria Holvoe), the bushy knight Madmartigan (Val Kilmer, at the top of her game) and the Queen's own daughter, Sorsha (Joanne Whalley).

Its pitch pays homage to Middle-earth: the Shire of the Hobbits becomes the country of the Nelwyns, the elf Galadriel gives way to the fairy Cherlindrea, etc.

A work related to “Star Wars”

kinship

doesn't end with George Lucas.

Madmartigan, a slyly phlegmatic antihero, recalls Han Solo, Sorsha, the rebellious and warrior princess, Leia Organa and the candid and courageous Willow, who will discover that he has a power over the epic, Luke Skywalker.

George Lucas is waiting for the end of his successful trilogy to devote himself fully to Willow.

On the set of

, George Lucas sees the potential of a young English actor, Warwick Davis, who plays the role of the ewok Wicket.

He shapes his story around him and offers him the role of Willow Ufgoo.

George Lucas also offers a cameo to Kenny Baker, the eternal R2D2.

Innovative special effects

He turned over the direction to Ron Howard during post-production of

.

The two have known each other since Howard starred in

.

The script is entrusted to Bob Dolman, whose work Lucas appreciated on the sitcom

.

In the sound design, we find Ben Burtt – the sound engineer who created Chewbacca's cry, in the music, James Horner, who will later sign the soundtracks of

, or

's special effects

impressed.

inaugurates the first special morphing effects, reused in Michael Jackson's famous

music video in 1991. The sublime landscapes of New Zealand, too.

One of the few fantasy films of the 1980s

After the failures of

and

, fantasy was considered too risky a genre by Hollywood in those years.

George Lucas struggled to find a co-producer, but managed to get the film distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Willow,

presented at Cannes in 1988, plunges the viewer into a very classic fantasy world.

This ode to childhood, mixed with a good dose of humor and second degree, acquires the status of cult film alongside the rare fantasy films of the time such as the virile

of John Milius, the bloody

by John Boorman, or dark

by Jim Henson.

Three video games were taken from the film.

Chris Claremont even offers a sequel to the film in the form of novels, a trilogy published between 1995 and 2000 under the name of

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A series with the same creative team as the film

"I hope we get to see an older Willow in action," Ron Howard

in

2019.

Willow Ufgood costume.

If Ron Howard does not take over the director's chair for the series, he is an executive producer alongside Lucasfilm regulars Kathleen Kennedy and Jonathan Kasdan.

The latter, co-writer of

officiates as showrunner.

The film's screenwriter Bob Dolman serves as a consulting producer.

The direction was entrusted to Stephen Woolfenden (

), Jamie Childs (

), Philippa Lowthorpe (

) and Debs Paterson (

).

Joanne Whalley reprises her role as Sorsha, the daughter of Bavmorda, the antagonist, who has become a staunch ally and protector of the child Willow was carrying.

Val Kilmer, will not be part of the cast due to his health problems, but his character will be part of the story.

Christian Slater (

) is announced for him in a role that would be linked to Madmartigan.

A new quest for Willow

Twenty years after the events of the film, Queen Sorsha's son is kidnapped by evil creatures.

Her sister Kit (Ruby Cruz seen in

), Jade, aspiring knight (Erin Kellyman seen in

) and Dove, a servant (Ellie Bamber seen in

) go to meet Willow , become a powerful wizard, in order to ask for his help.

Once again, Willow will embark on a new quest against the forces of evil.

A saga that promises to be epic, funny, family... and cult?

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