Willow: Behind the Magic (2023) Movie Script
Three, two, one, action!
Kit!
- Hi, I'm Erin Kellyman.
- I'm Ruby Cruz.
- I'm Tony Revolori.
- I'm Ellie Bamber.
- I'm Dempsey Bryk.
- I am Amar Chadha-Patel
and this is your look at
the behind the scenes of the making of...
Willow.
Starting about, I don't know,
ten years after the movie was released,
a week would not go by without somebody
wanting to talk about Willow.
Mm-hmm. First thing I did with George
was Return of the Jedi.
And then, I'd done the Caravan of Courage
and Battle for Endor.
And then, I went on to do Labyrinth which
George was involved in again.
AMAR CHADHA-PATEL: I read
an interview about Willow,
where George Lucas had said that
when he'd met Warwick
on the set of Star Wars
that he wanted to make a story
where the hero was unlikely
and not what you would
expect a hero to be.
So I watched the original
to refresh my memory of everything
and all the characters and kind of,
to remember how fun it was and how...
I mean, how iconic it was, actually.
How many times
have you worked with George?
- It's my third one.
- What were the other two?
Uh, I did Raiders of the Lost Ark.
And, um, Indiana Jones.
And, of course, this one.
He's killed me four times in three films.
He doesn't like me.
I feel like it's a movie
that doesn't take itself too seriously.
Excuse me, are we having a party?
- Huh?
You have this incredible experience,
which I did,
on the film and Ron Howard, directing,
George Lucas, producing.
It's my first real movie
and it's this giant, epic production.
It was out-of-this-world
and extraordinary.
I was captivated by it.
I was captivated by Warwick,
and by Joanne, and by Val Kilmer.
Obviously.
We were all just
absolutely obsessed with it.
You know, it was successful
when it came out, it was well-regarded.
But it, you know, it didn't have this,
sort of, place in pop culture.
I sort of tended to gravitate
toward the idea that,
while, like, Indiana Jones and Star Wars
were the biggest things ever,
there was this other thing.
There was Willow.
George Lucas had always
wanted, not so much to do a sequel,
but to develop it further on television.
And when Disney Plus came along,
suddenly we felt like,
well, there's a real home for this.
To all the fans who've waited
over 30 years, the wait is over.
Kasdan from his original conversations
with Ron Howard,
he's been kind of
building this world up
and bringing his own kind of sensibility,
humor, and heart.
It has nostalgia, of course,
for those of us
that love the original movie.
But it feels so fresh and modern
and he has managed to bring it
into a brand new moment in time.
So there's this specificity to Willow
and to the Lucasfilm brand.
And so, my mind kept going to this, like,
dusty volume
sitting on a shelf somewhere
with "Willow" on its spine.
And like,
I wanted to write more of that book.
Jon Kasdan encourages
a very inventive and bold approach.
But he also respects the skills
and the different qualities
each cast member brings.
I think as a new cast,
there is pressure stepping in and
taking over, like, such a beloved story.
Reading the scripts
and getting a sense
of the premise for the show,
this thing was gonna live or die
according to the cast.
So I was kinda nervous about
meeting the new team, as it were.
And they're so brilliant,
they're so brilliant.
It's been a joy,
a genuine joy working with them.
The repartee that is between them,
that isn't something
anyone needs to direct.
Uh, it's been a crazy day.
We've had a lot of...
- Where?
- It's that way.
- What?
- Lot of horse work going on today.
- Uh...
- I think... No.
- Amar, you gettin' on? Ruby?
- CHADHA-PATEL: No, I'll get the next one.
- Oh.
- Okay.
As you can see,
a lot of horse work going on.
I met Ruby, who plays Kit,
who's my twin, on a FaceTime.
- Oh, hey there. What's up?
- Hey.
And within two seconds
I said, "I think I know you."
And then, progressively person,
by person, by person
who I met,
we all kinda said the same thing.
These people are my family.
I've been with them for so long.
When we're all six of us are together,
like, that's always very fun, you know.
Um, we can never get anything shot,
but it's very fun.
Reach out to me.
What was it like
working with Warwick Davis?
Um...
Warwick has a lot of passion.
Like, well,
like a, like a lot of passion.
Really passionate.
He has so many great ideas.
Warwick is, uh...
He's very... intense.
Can we get this thing towed
at owner's expense, please?
He just has ideas.
He has a lot of ideas. Um...
For everyone about everything.
Whether you want them or not.
How's that?
He likes to remind people
he's number one on the call sheet
which is... which is helpful, I think.
Quiet, please.
Don't wanna do this twice.
And three, two, one.
I'm Warwick Davis
and I play Willow.
Hang on. No, do it again.
That was rubbish.
We have some of the best
hair people, makeup people,
set designer people
who have put such a show together
that I have come in here and I'm just
blown away at the level of detail.
I really liked the troll set.
It was cool to walk around in there,
it's very easy to actually get lost.
It's a whole thing as well.
It's a real maze.
It's not just one tiny, little corner
that everyone squeezes into.
They built a whole thing.
This is a great crew.
Everybody from art department, um,
who've been looking at creative ways
to accomplish everything
you see behind us.
And then the things you can't see
is what visual effects is gonna do later.
We have Industrial Light & Magic on
to supervise
all the visual effects for this work.
Um, this is gonna be epic, even though
this is already an epic location.
Instead of being this height,
it's gonna be five or ten times taller
when we get into visual effects world.
So we're
in Bavmorda's chamber or High Tower,
That's where the climax
of Willow 1988 happens.
We see our characters from 1988
and they interact
with our characters from 2021.
We looked in the archives
to try and find out
um, what suitable angles
would help tell the story.
So try to line up whatever footage
we had with the POVs
and made sure that our characters
from 2021 were in the right position,
so they would line up
with the footage that we have to hand.
So I'd imagine it'll take our team
about three or four months
to pull this together
and see 'em in this environment.
And seeing these sets
reconstructed for the series
has been quite somethin' as well.
'Cause I believe
that most of this location
in the movie was a painting.
In the original movie, this dais part
was the only thing that existed.
The rest of it was a matte painting.
Kristian and his team
did an incredible job.
We wanted to have it very similar
to what it looked like in the movie.
- And Neal Scanlan
and the creatures department
are legendary.
They've worked with Lucasfilm and ILM
a lot on various Star Wars projects.
The attention to detail is wonderful
within the creature department.
You get a drawing, you get a maquette,
you get a full size sculpt.
You're given a chance to give notes
to discuss possibilities
of how it'll look for real.
Uh, to me, workin' on Willow
has been really demanding, actually.
Creating new characters
and starting afresh was amazing
and to find solution
to what Jon was writing was really fun.
Three, two, one, action!
Going down.
CHADHA-PATEL: Yeah,
the creatures are amazing.
Actually, my favorite creatures
were the, um, the wererats.
- Okay, look out for the wererats.
- What?
See ya.
CHADHA-PATEL: Kit and Boorman go
on a little side quest in episode three
and we get attacked by wererats
and there was this crazy,
two-headed rat that attacks Kit
while I'm down a well,
and just doing my own thing. Um...
And the puppetry was,
I mean, it's classic CFX.
Like, fully armatured puppets
with moving parts
and fingers and eyes
and it looked so creepy and real.
It was covered in slime and gross.
I loved it.
When I met my first troll,
I was totally gob smacked.
Uh, the detail that Neal had put into
the face, the wrinkles, everything.
Even the little warty things
that they had on their bodies.
Uh, people always ask me, you know,
do I use Stanislavski or Meisner.
Which I always tell them
is a trick question
because there would be
no Meisner without Stanislavski.
And, Pippa,
the makeup designer, as well,
I think her work is awe-inspiring.
I think she brings a wonderful
naturalism to everything she does.
We thought we'd bring the world to life
with all of our backgrounds.
Backgrounds have got all the interesting
hair and everything like that.
Like our Tir Asleeners
we could go quite far with.
We needed our heroes
to be really relatable.
We needed everyone
that watches it to kinda go,
"Oh, that... I kinda... I could be
that person, that could be me," you know?
- Oh. Yeah.
I was telling the crew how you do
everyone's makeup except your own,
- which is virtually impossible.
- Mmm.
I'd say Warwick is very hands-on.
Yeah. I think... hands-on
is a good way of describing it.
I'm a perfectionist.
Every tiny detail on the film set matters.
And I wanna be part of that.
I mean,
the guy has an incredible work ethic.
He's involved in wardrobe,
makeup, production design.
He's our on-set medic,
which is weird
because he doesn't really have
any medical background or training at all.
Part of me thinks it is very irresponsible
and also weird
that he's chosen to be the medic.
But then, on the other hand,
I was chokin' on a chicken bone.
And he did save my life, so.
And then, you know,
there's the transportation thing
which is that he insists on picking up
all of the actors at their homes.
The actors appreciate it but, weirdly,
like, he'll do it for all of them.
Except for Ellie.
Seems to be like
actively sabotaging her call sheet.
Yeah. Lovely.
Thanks, Warwick. That's great.
Thanks, Amanda.
Um, so we're gonna do
a few now with Ellie, if that's okay.
- Oh, yeah.
- So, yeah, where is she? Where's Ellie?
No idea.
- Hello?
It's locked from the outside. Hello?
We got some great ones of me,
didn't we?
- Yes. Yours was...
- Yeah.
Thank you.
Yeah, no, they were great.
Well, this is Willow, after all.
So, uh, that's all you need.
- Absolutely, yes.
- Good.
I think we were most excited about
continuing the story of Elora Danan
who, of course, we only saw as a baby
and is now moved
into the central role of this series.
This is the baby
that he saved.
This is the person that he, sort of, lost.
She's back.
I remember we sat down
with Warwick and told him
that Elora Danan
would finally be in this story
and become the central character.
And his response immediately was, "Why?"
I genuinely, actually think Warwick
is a bit like, intimidated by Ellie?
I don't wanna say
that it's sabotage.
But, but it is. It's sabotage, I think.
No, that's ridiculous.
Are you kidding?
Warwick really likes me.
I think, maybe, at one point,
he got the idea that...
Oh.
I wanted to call the show Elora Danan
- and he heard about that...
- Oh.
Okay, Ellie.
We're ready for you on set now.
Thank you, Alec.
A major through line
in season one
is Elora Danan learning to become
more powerful than Willow as a sorcerer.
Uh, so the fact that her wands
kept disappearing from set
was unsubtle and problematic.
I think Warwick's been
snappin' Ellie's wands.
In fact, I know he has.
We've got security cameras.
Wait for it.
Okay.
Look, look, look. Okay, look!
There's the snatch.
There's the snap. See?
Do you know how many wands
we've gone through?
Must be like, 37.
What the ?
- Right. Okay.
- Then we get to the jump.
The horse is blind,
he doesn't know where he's going.
- He doesn't know where he's going.
- And here we go, three, two, one.
Hsu-gala!
Thank you so much.
You did a great job today.
Thank you very much.
Hi, are you all right?
Yeah, definitely.
Hi, how do you do?
We're gonna have a body land,
- boom, on the floor!
- Bang!
CC and his team
did a fantastic job,
you know, all of the actors
were doing all of their own work
in there which is sensational.
We put the cast through
an awful lot of, um,
physical rigor on this shoot.
Oh, .
- Are you okay?
- Yeah. All good.
- These actors, I gotta say.
- They're so great.
- I mean, it's been incredible
- And so game.
to watch them grow.
Seeing them fight so well.
Yeah, we have a great young cast.
Ellen, Mario, Dennis...
And there's Tommy. Arianna. And Robin.
And they're all relatively,
uh, good in the show.
The big fellow
is a bit of a klutz, though.
CHADHA-PATEL: We have
an amazing stunt team, obviously.
Luke, my stunt double,
he's an incredible sword fighter,
and he teaches me how to sword fight.
The beauty of it is that
he'll teach me these moves
that are incredible
but when I do them,
I make 'em look bad
'cause I'm, I'm like a grasshopper.
From my side of it,
we've got horses in there,
we've got trolls, we've got falls,
we've got fights everywhere.
There's sword fights everywhere.
And I'm havin' a great time.
Amazing!
CC and the team, I mean,
these guys are the best in the biz.
And they're doing a great job.
They, essentially,
design the fights in a way
where it's everything
that we're capable of.
They don't really put anything
in that us as actors can't do.
So we're able to really do it
and get into it 'cause they're incredible.
I can't speak highly enough about them.
So, we're really just lucky.
CHADHA-PATEL: Dempsey Bryk as Airk.
"Bryk" by name, "brick" by nature.
He's been my rock.
He and I have been gym partners.
We've all had to train.
We did a, a month of boot camp.
I'm very grateful for the month-long
boot camp that we got to do
because I would've... Oh.
It would've been tragic
if I wasn't training.
But it was really physically demanding.
Probably the most physically
demanding thing I've ever done.
But so paying off.
Like, I can't believe
I know how to sword fight now.
It is the coolest thing.
Joanne, who plays Sorsha,
loved coming out
and playing in the Gales fight.
And she absolutely
has to front it out with the Doom.
With these magical whips,
whipping back and forth at her.
Sorsha has the weight of the world
on her shoulders
because she's starting
to see things and hear things.
- And then, the Death Dogs appear...
and she knows that if the Death Dogs
are around then it's all gonna kick off.
Death Dogs.
And I have to get my sword out
that I have put away.
It's really fun doing a fight again.
I haven't had a fight for ages.
It's really fun.
I can assure you,
whatever's out there,
my knights are, are more than capable...
You were a bit early there, Martin.
- Yep. I'm sorry about that.
- Let's just reset Martin.
- You can do it separately.
It was so fun.
Now, people watching this may think
that this was all shot
against a green screen.
In fact, we are actually
out here on the beach,
in the elements, shooting this for real.
We really wanted to create our own world.
It needs to be fantastical
and have that kinda slightly
other-worldly feel to it.
Welcome to the Bone Reaver encampment.
We're in the Forest of Dean.
Very special place.
It's basically an area
that was a woodland once
and it's collapsed,
it's mines underneath and, a cave system.
And it's all collapsed.
A lot of it is not us, it's all natural,
but we've put in the doors.
All the timber work.
If you look carefully, there's a load
of skulls and just hidden around.
So, as we're goin' around,
you can just see all the details.
We tried to stay clear
of using real Medieval architecture.
We didn't use any real castles.
We do have one or two ruins,
uh, one of them being Neath Abbey
which, uh, the heroes run through
in the beginning of episode five.
We're not in Europe
and we're not even in the Medieval times.
We are in a fantasy world.
So the Willow production being based
entirely in Wales has been great for us.
There's something mythic
about the Welsh countryside
that isn't the same as anywhere else.
You know,
we're making a road movie, obviously.
So, we need to find
a lot of places that feel,
kind of, distinctly different
and can progress in a distinct way.
I think the biggest benefit
is the diversity of locations.
And having wide-open space,
so close to the studio.
Within one hour of Cardiff,
you can shoot on beaches, in forests,
by lakes, up valleys, in mountains.
It's been an awesome experience
to get the camera,
the crew, the cast
into the most amazing places.
I've got many fond memories
of filming in Wales on the first film.
So I think it was great that we went back
to Wales for the series.
Basically, we had to go back there again.
Willow...
Let's ride.
You know, after the first Willow came out,
I was on fire.
The first movie
went to his head a little bit.
I mean, to be totally honest,
I think he perceives it
as more successful than it actually was.
I had big ideas.
Big ideas, I'm tellin' ya.
He pitched me maybe,
20 ideas for Willow sequels.
None of them really made any sense.
I invented the colon.
Yeah, the colon.
Basically allows you to make
the same movie over and over again.
You take the title,
put a colon after it,
give it another title.
I wrote loads of them.
Willow, colon, Bavmorda's Revenge.
Willow, colon, Lost in New York.
Willow, colon, Spring Break,
colon, Miami Beach.
That's a double colon, that one.
Willow, colon, Willow's Colon.
which was a public service film
about gastrointestinal health.
Very important.
In his mind, he thought he was creating
the world's first mega franchise.
That wasn't a thing.
There was a lot of opportunity
for me in those days.
I was getting offered some exciting roles
up against some of the biggest actors
in Hollywood.
And that's, uh, that's when I met him.
The weasel.
What can I say,
I'm just thrilled to be a part of it.
The coup
and the ultimate score for our show
was getting Christian Slater to come in
and play Allagash.
And the cast was excited.
Disney was excited.
Warwick was less excited.
It turned out,
they had a long and complicated history.
The Warwick Davis-Christian Slater rivalry.
That... That was the stuff
of Hollywood legend.
He stole my idea.
We were mates.
I took him out to lunch,
told him about this passion project
I'd been working on between Willows.
It was about this sexy DJ
in Brixton, London,
called Would You Mind
Turning Up The Music, Please?
And six months later,
saw a movie poster for a film,
rather rudely entitled,
Pump Up The Volume.
He basically accused me of plagiarism.
In his version of events I, what,
uh, stole his idea,
hired a writer and director,
made the movie and released it in theaters
in like six months?
I mean, how would that even work?
But, uh, man, he was pissed.
He, uh, he came at me, hard.
What? That's what he said?
I came at him hard? Can you imagine that?
I'm British.
I don't do things like that.
I'm a gentleman.
Yeah, he threatened to sue me
in the most English way possible.
And sadly, we never spoke again after that
until this.
The Disney team
have been looking at the dailies
and they're so excited about Christian
and what season two
could be like if you guys are like,
you know, like, buddies and,
like, on an adventure.
- You seem like you're shaking your head.
- Whoa. Wait a minute.
If they put Christian Slater
on Disney Plus,
they're gonna have to change the name
to Disney Minus.
Hey, guys. Yeah.
- Good to see you.
- It's good to have you here.
- Yeah.
Thanks, man.
No, it's great to be here.
They finally arrive
at the silent, burnt-out ruins.
The beauty of the series
is that it really walks this fine line
between being funny as it should be
and this kind of dramatic fantasy
that we've kind of grown accustomed to
with Game of Thrones and such,
while also keepin' it contemporary
in a way that's fresh and new.
And it really all just kind of stems
from the mind of Jon Kasdan
who is our show runner and writer.
Jon Kasdan is a very special man.
I think Jon is one of the most creative
individuals I've ever met.
The way he sees this world as something
that is just as valuable now
as when it was created.
You know, Jon has been wonderful
in allowing us to come in,
you know, and to have some fun with it
and be loose with it,
and I think that is the right energy
for this type of story.
I'm free...
- This guy's insane.
This must be
like a dream come true to Jon.
To have eight hours to explore
your childhood adventures
with this massive great team
and this wonderful cast.
Willow!
I said yes and came aboard
'cause I didn't wanna shatter
his childhood dreams
which clearly this represents.
This is not nostalgia.
It's using the fundamentals
of this world, these characters
but it's very forward thinking
in terms of its sensibilities,
uh, and also,
the adventure that it creates.
I feel like there's something
for everyone in this series.
There are just so many storylines
and characters all weaved together.
There's definitely been days
where I am laughing
and crying and screaming all in one day
and I mean,
it's crazy for my emotional health
but it,
you know, gets it all out.
I mean, the beauty of fantasy
and sci-fi is that it's not Earth
so you can put anyone
of any diverse background
in what essentially is a world
full of dragons and giants.
Um, if you can have giants and trolls,
why can't you have brown people?
We talk about the impact that these little
moments are gonna have on children
and being able to see themselves
and think, "Yeah, I wanna be that."
I mean, I said this to Jon Kasdan
when I first had my meeting,
my first meeting with him.
You know, Indiana Jones, Han Solo,
characters that every kid wanted to be,
but as an Asian man,
I never saw myself reflected in that way.
The comedic rogue with a heart of gold
character played by an Asian person
so for me it's a huge honor
and I'm very excited
and hope to bring it to life,
and not ruin it and get fired.
Which is a possibility.
And in about ten seconds,
I'm gonna kiss you.
So, if you don't want that...
Yes, I would...
I mean, I would be very into that.
So absolutely excited to be able
to represent the LGBTQ plus community
on screen especially something
as wide scale as Disney.
I think this is huge. That is...
Ah! That makes me so excited.
That makes me so happy.
I honestly never thought I'd be playing
a queer character in a Disney show.
I think it's so important for young people
to see queer characters on shows.
Like, to see it on Disney, too.
It's such a big platform
and it's gonna reach so many people
and if I had that when I was younger
I think I'd feel a lot less scared
and a lot less intimidated by the thoughts
and feelings I was having.
And being a queer woman, and playing
a queer character on a Disney show
is honestly the most insane,
it's the most insane thing.
I never thought I'd be able to do that.
We're Thraxus
and you're watching the Disney Plus.
That was good.
CHADHA-PATEL: Okay, Jamie?
That's
the last shot on Willow.
Well done, everybody!
It has been a joyous experience
and I've loved working
with such talented people.
To become a part of something
that is so beloved by so many people
and to be able to just extend
that world even further
into something
that even more people can love,
I think is a really cool thing.
There's lots of comedic moments,
there's lots of really tender moments
and there's a real journey to go on.
It's just not typical,
it's not what you would expect,
and I think that
that is something that is so exciting.
You guys are the best! See you.
See you next year!
It's turned into like one
of the greatest experiences of my career
so I, I'm very happy to have said yes.
I don't wanna leave for real.
- I know.
- It's not even, like,
I know this is an interview
but I'm actually so sad.
The overriding thing I'll take away
is a set that is full of warmth,
fun, great characters, lovely people.
And a real energy to try
and do something a little bit different.
The truth is,
people thought Warwick was crazy.
But the reality
is he was just ahead of his time.
I mean, yes, he can be difficult,
he can be challenging.
And he's got a big ego but you know what?
He's got an even bigger heart
and he brings out the very best in people
and they bring out the best in him.
And that's what Willow is all about.
It's about heart,
and it's about friendship,
it's about coming together.
And magic, it's also about magic.
Ellie, this is from Warwick.
From Warwick? For me?
Are you kidding? Look at the box.
Oh.
A new wand.
Aw.
Aw, he shouldn't have.
For me, this has been a dream that I've
had for, probably, about 30 years.
Every fan of the movie said,
"When will you make another Willow?
We want a sequel."
And Jon here has realized that dream
for many millions of people
around the world who loved the movie.
He always tells us to take in every moment
and appreciate all of the little things
which I think
is why he does all these little things.
Like pick us up in the mornin'.
He always reminds us
that everything can go by in a flash.
So to appreciate and love every moment
of every day with each other.
I mean, Warwick might have been
a bit hard on me
but at the end of the day I think
it's because he believed in me.
And now I'm very grateful for that.
Look, I may be Warwick Davis,
titular character of Willow,
massive international movie star
with over $14.5 billion
in box office revenue and counting.
King of the Ewoks, polo buddy
to Prince William, yada, yada, yada.
But the truth is
none of that really matters.
What matters is this.
What we've created here together
is just so much bigger than me.
Maybe Willow isn't just one man.
Maybe there's a little Willow
in all of us.
I am Willow.
I am Willow?
I am Willow.
I'm Willow.
I am Willow.
This has been
the greatest adventure of my life.
But, uh, just to be clear,
contractually speaking,
there is only one Willow.
And that's me.
Have you seen
when he sits on a chair?
Like, we've tried to talk about it
- and he doesn't want to.
- He didn't want to.
You have a reputation as a bit of a klutz.
No. No, I'm pretty coordinated.
I've been doing lot of stunt training
for this mother...
Very complex fight sequences so...
There's a lot of broken chairs on set.
- There's a giant easter egg and if you...
- Oh!
Oh, my... It's okay, he has a problem.
Don't draw attention to it.
It's a huge problem.
He's gonna hurt himself and more than
anything he's gonna hurt someone else.
Have you seen Warwick?
CHADHA-PATEL: What?
I don't have a problem sitting down.
You guys are making this up.
Making me...
- I feel like you're gaslighting me.
- Okay.
Kit!
- Hi, I'm Erin Kellyman.
- I'm Ruby Cruz.
- I'm Tony Revolori.
- I'm Ellie Bamber.
- I'm Dempsey Bryk.
- I am Amar Chadha-Patel
and this is your look at
the behind the scenes of the making of...
Willow.
Starting about, I don't know,
ten years after the movie was released,
a week would not go by without somebody
wanting to talk about Willow.
Mm-hmm. First thing I did with George
was Return of the Jedi.
And then, I'd done the Caravan of Courage
and Battle for Endor.
And then, I went on to do Labyrinth which
George was involved in again.
AMAR CHADHA-PATEL: I read
an interview about Willow,
where George Lucas had said that
when he'd met Warwick
on the set of Star Wars
that he wanted to make a story
where the hero was unlikely
and not what you would
expect a hero to be.
So I watched the original
to refresh my memory of everything
and all the characters and kind of,
to remember how fun it was and how...
I mean, how iconic it was, actually.
How many times
have you worked with George?
- It's my third one.
- What were the other two?
Uh, I did Raiders of the Lost Ark.
And, um, Indiana Jones.
And, of course, this one.
He's killed me four times in three films.
He doesn't like me.
I feel like it's a movie
that doesn't take itself too seriously.
Excuse me, are we having a party?
- Huh?
You have this incredible experience,
which I did,
on the film and Ron Howard, directing,
George Lucas, producing.
It's my first real movie
and it's this giant, epic production.
It was out-of-this-world
and extraordinary.
I was captivated by it.
I was captivated by Warwick,
and by Joanne, and by Val Kilmer.
Obviously.
We were all just
absolutely obsessed with it.
You know, it was successful
when it came out, it was well-regarded.
But it, you know, it didn't have this,
sort of, place in pop culture.
I sort of tended to gravitate
toward the idea that,
while, like, Indiana Jones and Star Wars
were the biggest things ever,
there was this other thing.
There was Willow.
George Lucas had always
wanted, not so much to do a sequel,
but to develop it further on television.
And when Disney Plus came along,
suddenly we felt like,
well, there's a real home for this.
To all the fans who've waited
over 30 years, the wait is over.
Kasdan from his original conversations
with Ron Howard,
he's been kind of
building this world up
and bringing his own kind of sensibility,
humor, and heart.
It has nostalgia, of course,
for those of us
that love the original movie.
But it feels so fresh and modern
and he has managed to bring it
into a brand new moment in time.
So there's this specificity to Willow
and to the Lucasfilm brand.
And so, my mind kept going to this, like,
dusty volume
sitting on a shelf somewhere
with "Willow" on its spine.
And like,
I wanted to write more of that book.
Jon Kasdan encourages
a very inventive and bold approach.
But he also respects the skills
and the different qualities
each cast member brings.
I think as a new cast,
there is pressure stepping in and
taking over, like, such a beloved story.
Reading the scripts
and getting a sense
of the premise for the show,
this thing was gonna live or die
according to the cast.
So I was kinda nervous about
meeting the new team, as it were.
And they're so brilliant,
they're so brilliant.
It's been a joy,
a genuine joy working with them.
The repartee that is between them,
that isn't something
anyone needs to direct.
Uh, it's been a crazy day.
We've had a lot of...
- Where?
- It's that way.
- What?
- Lot of horse work going on today.
- Uh...
- I think... No.
- Amar, you gettin' on? Ruby?
- CHADHA-PATEL: No, I'll get the next one.
- Oh.
- Okay.
As you can see,
a lot of horse work going on.
I met Ruby, who plays Kit,
who's my twin, on a FaceTime.
- Oh, hey there. What's up?
- Hey.
And within two seconds
I said, "I think I know you."
And then, progressively person,
by person, by person
who I met,
we all kinda said the same thing.
These people are my family.
I've been with them for so long.
When we're all six of us are together,
like, that's always very fun, you know.
Um, we can never get anything shot,
but it's very fun.
Reach out to me.
What was it like
working with Warwick Davis?
Um...
Warwick has a lot of passion.
Like, well,
like a, like a lot of passion.
Really passionate.
He has so many great ideas.
Warwick is, uh...
He's very... intense.
Can we get this thing towed
at owner's expense, please?
He just has ideas.
He has a lot of ideas. Um...
For everyone about everything.
Whether you want them or not.
How's that?
He likes to remind people
he's number one on the call sheet
which is... which is helpful, I think.
Quiet, please.
Don't wanna do this twice.
And three, two, one.
I'm Warwick Davis
and I play Willow.
Hang on. No, do it again.
That was rubbish.
We have some of the best
hair people, makeup people,
set designer people
who have put such a show together
that I have come in here and I'm just
blown away at the level of detail.
I really liked the troll set.
It was cool to walk around in there,
it's very easy to actually get lost.
It's a whole thing as well.
It's a real maze.
It's not just one tiny, little corner
that everyone squeezes into.
They built a whole thing.
This is a great crew.
Everybody from art department, um,
who've been looking at creative ways
to accomplish everything
you see behind us.
And then the things you can't see
is what visual effects is gonna do later.
We have Industrial Light & Magic on
to supervise
all the visual effects for this work.
Um, this is gonna be epic, even though
this is already an epic location.
Instead of being this height,
it's gonna be five or ten times taller
when we get into visual effects world.
So we're
in Bavmorda's chamber or High Tower,
That's where the climax
of Willow 1988 happens.
We see our characters from 1988
and they interact
with our characters from 2021.
We looked in the archives
to try and find out
um, what suitable angles
would help tell the story.
So try to line up whatever footage
we had with the POVs
and made sure that our characters
from 2021 were in the right position,
so they would line up
with the footage that we have to hand.
So I'd imagine it'll take our team
about three or four months
to pull this together
and see 'em in this environment.
And seeing these sets
reconstructed for the series
has been quite somethin' as well.
'Cause I believe
that most of this location
in the movie was a painting.
In the original movie, this dais part
was the only thing that existed.
The rest of it was a matte painting.
Kristian and his team
did an incredible job.
We wanted to have it very similar
to what it looked like in the movie.
- And Neal Scanlan
and the creatures department
are legendary.
They've worked with Lucasfilm and ILM
a lot on various Star Wars projects.
The attention to detail is wonderful
within the creature department.
You get a drawing, you get a maquette,
you get a full size sculpt.
You're given a chance to give notes
to discuss possibilities
of how it'll look for real.
Uh, to me, workin' on Willow
has been really demanding, actually.
Creating new characters
and starting afresh was amazing
and to find solution
to what Jon was writing was really fun.
Three, two, one, action!
Going down.
CHADHA-PATEL: Yeah,
the creatures are amazing.
Actually, my favorite creatures
were the, um, the wererats.
- Okay, look out for the wererats.
- What?
See ya.
CHADHA-PATEL: Kit and Boorman go
on a little side quest in episode three
and we get attacked by wererats
and there was this crazy,
two-headed rat that attacks Kit
while I'm down a well,
and just doing my own thing. Um...
And the puppetry was,
I mean, it's classic CFX.
Like, fully armatured puppets
with moving parts
and fingers and eyes
and it looked so creepy and real.
It was covered in slime and gross.
I loved it.
When I met my first troll,
I was totally gob smacked.
Uh, the detail that Neal had put into
the face, the wrinkles, everything.
Even the little warty things
that they had on their bodies.
Uh, people always ask me, you know,
do I use Stanislavski or Meisner.
Which I always tell them
is a trick question
because there would be
no Meisner without Stanislavski.
And, Pippa,
the makeup designer, as well,
I think her work is awe-inspiring.
I think she brings a wonderful
naturalism to everything she does.
We thought we'd bring the world to life
with all of our backgrounds.
Backgrounds have got all the interesting
hair and everything like that.
Like our Tir Asleeners
we could go quite far with.
We needed our heroes
to be really relatable.
We needed everyone
that watches it to kinda go,
"Oh, that... I kinda... I could be
that person, that could be me," you know?
- Oh. Yeah.
I was telling the crew how you do
everyone's makeup except your own,
- which is virtually impossible.
- Mmm.
I'd say Warwick is very hands-on.
Yeah. I think... hands-on
is a good way of describing it.
I'm a perfectionist.
Every tiny detail on the film set matters.
And I wanna be part of that.
I mean,
the guy has an incredible work ethic.
He's involved in wardrobe,
makeup, production design.
He's our on-set medic,
which is weird
because he doesn't really have
any medical background or training at all.
Part of me thinks it is very irresponsible
and also weird
that he's chosen to be the medic.
But then, on the other hand,
I was chokin' on a chicken bone.
And he did save my life, so.
And then, you know,
there's the transportation thing
which is that he insists on picking up
all of the actors at their homes.
The actors appreciate it but, weirdly,
like, he'll do it for all of them.
Except for Ellie.
Seems to be like
actively sabotaging her call sheet.
Yeah. Lovely.
Thanks, Warwick. That's great.
Thanks, Amanda.
Um, so we're gonna do
a few now with Ellie, if that's okay.
- Oh, yeah.
- So, yeah, where is she? Where's Ellie?
No idea.
- Hello?
It's locked from the outside. Hello?
We got some great ones of me,
didn't we?
- Yes. Yours was...
- Yeah.
Thank you.
Yeah, no, they were great.
Well, this is Willow, after all.
So, uh, that's all you need.
- Absolutely, yes.
- Good.
I think we were most excited about
continuing the story of Elora Danan
who, of course, we only saw as a baby
and is now moved
into the central role of this series.
This is the baby
that he saved.
This is the person that he, sort of, lost.
She's back.
I remember we sat down
with Warwick and told him
that Elora Danan
would finally be in this story
and become the central character.
And his response immediately was, "Why?"
I genuinely, actually think Warwick
is a bit like, intimidated by Ellie?
I don't wanna say
that it's sabotage.
But, but it is. It's sabotage, I think.
No, that's ridiculous.
Are you kidding?
Warwick really likes me.
I think, maybe, at one point,
he got the idea that...
Oh.
I wanted to call the show Elora Danan
- and he heard about that...
- Oh.
Okay, Ellie.
We're ready for you on set now.
Thank you, Alec.
A major through line
in season one
is Elora Danan learning to become
more powerful than Willow as a sorcerer.
Uh, so the fact that her wands
kept disappearing from set
was unsubtle and problematic.
I think Warwick's been
snappin' Ellie's wands.
In fact, I know he has.
We've got security cameras.
Wait for it.
Okay.
Look, look, look. Okay, look!
There's the snatch.
There's the snap. See?
Do you know how many wands
we've gone through?
Must be like, 37.
What the ?
- Right. Okay.
- Then we get to the jump.
The horse is blind,
he doesn't know where he's going.
- He doesn't know where he's going.
- And here we go, three, two, one.
Hsu-gala!
Thank you so much.
You did a great job today.
Thank you very much.
Hi, are you all right?
Yeah, definitely.
Hi, how do you do?
We're gonna have a body land,
- boom, on the floor!
- Bang!
CC and his team
did a fantastic job,
you know, all of the actors
were doing all of their own work
in there which is sensational.
We put the cast through
an awful lot of, um,
physical rigor on this shoot.
Oh, .
- Are you okay?
- Yeah. All good.
- These actors, I gotta say.
- They're so great.
- I mean, it's been incredible
- And so game.
to watch them grow.
Seeing them fight so well.
Yeah, we have a great young cast.
Ellen, Mario, Dennis...
And there's Tommy. Arianna. And Robin.
And they're all relatively,
uh, good in the show.
The big fellow
is a bit of a klutz, though.
CHADHA-PATEL: We have
an amazing stunt team, obviously.
Luke, my stunt double,
he's an incredible sword fighter,
and he teaches me how to sword fight.
The beauty of it is that
he'll teach me these moves
that are incredible
but when I do them,
I make 'em look bad
'cause I'm, I'm like a grasshopper.
From my side of it,
we've got horses in there,
we've got trolls, we've got falls,
we've got fights everywhere.
There's sword fights everywhere.
And I'm havin' a great time.
Amazing!
CC and the team, I mean,
these guys are the best in the biz.
And they're doing a great job.
They, essentially,
design the fights in a way
where it's everything
that we're capable of.
They don't really put anything
in that us as actors can't do.
So we're able to really do it
and get into it 'cause they're incredible.
I can't speak highly enough about them.
So, we're really just lucky.
CHADHA-PATEL: Dempsey Bryk as Airk.
"Bryk" by name, "brick" by nature.
He's been my rock.
He and I have been gym partners.
We've all had to train.
We did a, a month of boot camp.
I'm very grateful for the month-long
boot camp that we got to do
because I would've... Oh.
It would've been tragic
if I wasn't training.
But it was really physically demanding.
Probably the most physically
demanding thing I've ever done.
But so paying off.
Like, I can't believe
I know how to sword fight now.
It is the coolest thing.
Joanne, who plays Sorsha,
loved coming out
and playing in the Gales fight.
And she absolutely
has to front it out with the Doom.
With these magical whips,
whipping back and forth at her.
Sorsha has the weight of the world
on her shoulders
because she's starting
to see things and hear things.
- And then, the Death Dogs appear...
and she knows that if the Death Dogs
are around then it's all gonna kick off.
Death Dogs.
And I have to get my sword out
that I have put away.
It's really fun doing a fight again.
I haven't had a fight for ages.
It's really fun.
I can assure you,
whatever's out there,
my knights are, are more than capable...
You were a bit early there, Martin.
- Yep. I'm sorry about that.
- Let's just reset Martin.
- You can do it separately.
It was so fun.
Now, people watching this may think
that this was all shot
against a green screen.
In fact, we are actually
out here on the beach,
in the elements, shooting this for real.
We really wanted to create our own world.
It needs to be fantastical
and have that kinda slightly
other-worldly feel to it.
Welcome to the Bone Reaver encampment.
We're in the Forest of Dean.
Very special place.
It's basically an area
that was a woodland once
and it's collapsed,
it's mines underneath and, a cave system.
And it's all collapsed.
A lot of it is not us, it's all natural,
but we've put in the doors.
All the timber work.
If you look carefully, there's a load
of skulls and just hidden around.
So, as we're goin' around,
you can just see all the details.
We tried to stay clear
of using real Medieval architecture.
We didn't use any real castles.
We do have one or two ruins,
uh, one of them being Neath Abbey
which, uh, the heroes run through
in the beginning of episode five.
We're not in Europe
and we're not even in the Medieval times.
We are in a fantasy world.
So the Willow production being based
entirely in Wales has been great for us.
There's something mythic
about the Welsh countryside
that isn't the same as anywhere else.
You know,
we're making a road movie, obviously.
So, we need to find
a lot of places that feel,
kind of, distinctly different
and can progress in a distinct way.
I think the biggest benefit
is the diversity of locations.
And having wide-open space,
so close to the studio.
Within one hour of Cardiff,
you can shoot on beaches, in forests,
by lakes, up valleys, in mountains.
It's been an awesome experience
to get the camera,
the crew, the cast
into the most amazing places.
I've got many fond memories
of filming in Wales on the first film.
So I think it was great that we went back
to Wales for the series.
Basically, we had to go back there again.
Willow...
Let's ride.
You know, after the first Willow came out,
I was on fire.
The first movie
went to his head a little bit.
I mean, to be totally honest,
I think he perceives it
as more successful than it actually was.
I had big ideas.
Big ideas, I'm tellin' ya.
He pitched me maybe,
20 ideas for Willow sequels.
None of them really made any sense.
I invented the colon.
Yeah, the colon.
Basically allows you to make
the same movie over and over again.
You take the title,
put a colon after it,
give it another title.
I wrote loads of them.
Willow, colon, Bavmorda's Revenge.
Willow, colon, Lost in New York.
Willow, colon, Spring Break,
colon, Miami Beach.
That's a double colon, that one.
Willow, colon, Willow's Colon.
which was a public service film
about gastrointestinal health.
Very important.
In his mind, he thought he was creating
the world's first mega franchise.
That wasn't a thing.
There was a lot of opportunity
for me in those days.
I was getting offered some exciting roles
up against some of the biggest actors
in Hollywood.
And that's, uh, that's when I met him.
The weasel.
What can I say,
I'm just thrilled to be a part of it.
The coup
and the ultimate score for our show
was getting Christian Slater to come in
and play Allagash.
And the cast was excited.
Disney was excited.
Warwick was less excited.
It turned out,
they had a long and complicated history.
The Warwick Davis-Christian Slater rivalry.
That... That was the stuff
of Hollywood legend.
He stole my idea.
We were mates.
I took him out to lunch,
told him about this passion project
I'd been working on between Willows.
It was about this sexy DJ
in Brixton, London,
called Would You Mind
Turning Up The Music, Please?
And six months later,
saw a movie poster for a film,
rather rudely entitled,
Pump Up The Volume.
He basically accused me of plagiarism.
In his version of events I, what,
uh, stole his idea,
hired a writer and director,
made the movie and released it in theaters
in like six months?
I mean, how would that even work?
But, uh, man, he was pissed.
He, uh, he came at me, hard.
What? That's what he said?
I came at him hard? Can you imagine that?
I'm British.
I don't do things like that.
I'm a gentleman.
Yeah, he threatened to sue me
in the most English way possible.
And sadly, we never spoke again after that
until this.
The Disney team
have been looking at the dailies
and they're so excited about Christian
and what season two
could be like if you guys are like,
you know, like, buddies and,
like, on an adventure.
- You seem like you're shaking your head.
- Whoa. Wait a minute.
If they put Christian Slater
on Disney Plus,
they're gonna have to change the name
to Disney Minus.
Hey, guys. Yeah.
- Good to see you.
- It's good to have you here.
- Yeah.
Thanks, man.
No, it's great to be here.
They finally arrive
at the silent, burnt-out ruins.
The beauty of the series
is that it really walks this fine line
between being funny as it should be
and this kind of dramatic fantasy
that we've kind of grown accustomed to
with Game of Thrones and such,
while also keepin' it contemporary
in a way that's fresh and new.
And it really all just kind of stems
from the mind of Jon Kasdan
who is our show runner and writer.
Jon Kasdan is a very special man.
I think Jon is one of the most creative
individuals I've ever met.
The way he sees this world as something
that is just as valuable now
as when it was created.
You know, Jon has been wonderful
in allowing us to come in,
you know, and to have some fun with it
and be loose with it,
and I think that is the right energy
for this type of story.
I'm free...
- This guy's insane.
This must be
like a dream come true to Jon.
To have eight hours to explore
your childhood adventures
with this massive great team
and this wonderful cast.
Willow!
I said yes and came aboard
'cause I didn't wanna shatter
his childhood dreams
which clearly this represents.
This is not nostalgia.
It's using the fundamentals
of this world, these characters
but it's very forward thinking
in terms of its sensibilities,
uh, and also,
the adventure that it creates.
I feel like there's something
for everyone in this series.
There are just so many storylines
and characters all weaved together.
There's definitely been days
where I am laughing
and crying and screaming all in one day
and I mean,
it's crazy for my emotional health
but it,
you know, gets it all out.
I mean, the beauty of fantasy
and sci-fi is that it's not Earth
so you can put anyone
of any diverse background
in what essentially is a world
full of dragons and giants.
Um, if you can have giants and trolls,
why can't you have brown people?
We talk about the impact that these little
moments are gonna have on children
and being able to see themselves
and think, "Yeah, I wanna be that."
I mean, I said this to Jon Kasdan
when I first had my meeting,
my first meeting with him.
You know, Indiana Jones, Han Solo,
characters that every kid wanted to be,
but as an Asian man,
I never saw myself reflected in that way.
The comedic rogue with a heart of gold
character played by an Asian person
so for me it's a huge honor
and I'm very excited
and hope to bring it to life,
and not ruin it and get fired.
Which is a possibility.
And in about ten seconds,
I'm gonna kiss you.
So, if you don't want that...
Yes, I would...
I mean, I would be very into that.
So absolutely excited to be able
to represent the LGBTQ plus community
on screen especially something
as wide scale as Disney.
I think this is huge. That is...
Ah! That makes me so excited.
That makes me so happy.
I honestly never thought I'd be playing
a queer character in a Disney show.
I think it's so important for young people
to see queer characters on shows.
Like, to see it on Disney, too.
It's such a big platform
and it's gonna reach so many people
and if I had that when I was younger
I think I'd feel a lot less scared
and a lot less intimidated by the thoughts
and feelings I was having.
And being a queer woman, and playing
a queer character on a Disney show
is honestly the most insane,
it's the most insane thing.
I never thought I'd be able to do that.
We're Thraxus
and you're watching the Disney Plus.
That was good.
CHADHA-PATEL: Okay, Jamie?
That's
the last shot on Willow.
Well done, everybody!
It has been a joyous experience
and I've loved working
with such talented people.
To become a part of something
that is so beloved by so many people
and to be able to just extend
that world even further
into something
that even more people can love,
I think is a really cool thing.
There's lots of comedic moments,
there's lots of really tender moments
and there's a real journey to go on.
It's just not typical,
it's not what you would expect,
and I think that
that is something that is so exciting.
You guys are the best! See you.
See you next year!
It's turned into like one
of the greatest experiences of my career
so I, I'm very happy to have said yes.
I don't wanna leave for real.
- I know.
- It's not even, like,
I know this is an interview
but I'm actually so sad.
The overriding thing I'll take away
is a set that is full of warmth,
fun, great characters, lovely people.
And a real energy to try
and do something a little bit different.
The truth is,
people thought Warwick was crazy.
But the reality
is he was just ahead of his time.
I mean, yes, he can be difficult,
he can be challenging.
And he's got a big ego but you know what?
He's got an even bigger heart
and he brings out the very best in people
and they bring out the best in him.
And that's what Willow is all about.
It's about heart,
and it's about friendship,
it's about coming together.
And magic, it's also about magic.
Ellie, this is from Warwick.
From Warwick? For me?
Are you kidding? Look at the box.
Oh.
A new wand.
Aw.
Aw, he shouldn't have.
For me, this has been a dream that I've
had for, probably, about 30 years.
Every fan of the movie said,
"When will you make another Willow?
We want a sequel."
And Jon here has realized that dream
for many millions of people
around the world who loved the movie.
He always tells us to take in every moment
and appreciate all of the little things
which I think
is why he does all these little things.
Like pick us up in the mornin'.
He always reminds us
that everything can go by in a flash.
So to appreciate and love every moment
of every day with each other.
I mean, Warwick might have been
a bit hard on me
but at the end of the day I think
it's because he believed in me.
And now I'm very grateful for that.
Look, I may be Warwick Davis,
titular character of Willow,
massive international movie star
with over $14.5 billion
in box office revenue and counting.
King of the Ewoks, polo buddy
to Prince William, yada, yada, yada.
But the truth is
none of that really matters.
What matters is this.
What we've created here together
is just so much bigger than me.
Maybe Willow isn't just one man.
Maybe there's a little Willow
in all of us.
I am Willow.
I am Willow?
I am Willow.
I'm Willow.
I am Willow.
This has been
the greatest adventure of my life.
But, uh, just to be clear,
contractually speaking,
there is only one Willow.
And that's me.
Have you seen
when he sits on a chair?
Like, we've tried to talk about it
- and he doesn't want to.
- He didn't want to.
You have a reputation as a bit of a klutz.
No. No, I'm pretty coordinated.
I've been doing lot of stunt training
for this mother...
Very complex fight sequences so...
There's a lot of broken chairs on set.
- There's a giant easter egg and if you...
- Oh!
Oh, my... It's okay, he has a problem.
Don't draw attention to it.
It's a huge problem.
He's gonna hurt himself and more than
anything he's gonna hurt someone else.
Have you seen Warwick?
CHADHA-PATEL: What?
I don't have a problem sitting down.
You guys are making this up.
Making me...
- I feel like you're gaslighting me.
- Okay.