Good news if you've been following the development process of the Willow follow-up series that had been coming together slowly at Disney+: the streaming service has officially ordered the show, and Crazy Rich Asians' Jon M. Chu will direct the pilot.
Jonathan Kasdan and Wendy Mericle are aboard to run the show, which will follow the adventures of hero Willow Ufgood (Warwick Davis is returning to star), though exact plot details have yet to be announced.
"Growing up in the’80s, Willow has had a profound effect on me,” Chu says in a statement. "The story of the bravest heroes in the least likely places allowed me, an Asian-American kid growing up in a Chinese restaurant looking to go to Hollywood, to believe in the power of our own will, determination and of course, inner magic. So the fact that I get to work with my heroes from Kathleen Kennedy to Ron Howard is bigger than a dream come-true. It’s a bucket-list moment for me. Jon Kasdan and Wendy Mericle have added such groundbreaking new characters and delightful surprises to this timeless story that I can’t wait for the world to come along on this epic journey with us."
Howard, who directed the original film, will be an executive producer, while the movie's writer Bob Dolman will consult in the scripting stage. "It’s creatively exciting to not only revisit the world and characters first conceived by George Lucas, Bob Dolman and myself but to see it take flight in such fresh, fun and cinematic ways through the imagination of Jon Kasdan and Team Willow,” says Howard. "This isn’t a nostalgic throw-back, it’s a creative lean-forward and it’s a blast to be a part of it all."