‘Willow’ Has Not Been Canceled by Disney+, Showrunner Says

“Willow” fans received disappointing news this week when it was widely reported that the Disney+ series (a sequel to Ron Howard and George Lucas’ 1988 film of the same name) had been canceled after one season.

The news hardly came as a surprise, given that all streaming services are dealing with budget cuts and Disney is in the midst of a management shakeup. But as it turns out, the initial report may not have told the whole story.

Jon Kasdan, who created the series and served as showrunner for Season 1, posted a statement on his personal Twitter account to put the news of the show’s cancellation into context. Kasdan explained that the uncertain state of the streaming industry is significantly delaying the production of the show, but this has not been officially ruled out.

“Last week, we decided to release our main characters because of other series opportunities that may arise for them in the coming year,” Kasdan said. wrote. “With the number of TV shows and movies being made around the world, it seems unfair to limit an actor’s availability without knowing when you’ll need them again. It’s further downplayed by the simple reality that the scripts we’ve been working on require the same number of actors with no such contractual ties.”

He went on to say that while there are no firm plans to restart production anytime soon, Disney has commissioned him and his creative team to design a second season.

“If you’re asking what it means to you as a viewer, or to me as a creator, I think this is: it means: Streaming show production is slowing down across the industry due to far bigger and more complex forces than I ever thought I fully understood streaming show production, and ‘Willow’ won’t resume filming for the next 12 months” — written by. “But here’s what’s just as true: With the enthusiastic and unwavering support of Lucasfilm and Disney, we’ve developed and written what we hope is a mind-blowingly entertaining, richer, darker and better VOLUME II that builds on the characters and the story. of our first eight chapters (The Wyrm Survives!)

Of course, it’s fairly common for studios to order scripts that never make it to production — so the situation Kasdan outlines isn’t exactly a guarantee that Season 2 will be ready anytime soon. But for now, “Willow” fans can take solace in the fact that the dream of another season isn’t completely dead.

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