Review: WILLOW Is a Decent Sequel Series, But Not as Good as I Was Hoping

Lucasfilm’s Willow sequel series was one of my most anticipated shows of the year. I am such a huge fan of George Lucas and Ron Howard’s original fantasy movie. It was one of those movies that had a huge impact on my childhood and my love of movies.

I was so ready for this show! I was so pumped up! The creators have been hyping it up, and I bought into its hype. But, in my opinion, the series is just… ok. I was expecting something so much better, so I was left feeling disappointed. My own imagination just took things to a more epic level of storytelling that this series didn’t manage to match. I guess that’s partly my fault for being a big fan of the film with a big imagination of what I would have liked to see.

The one aspect of the series I loved most was seeing Warwick Davis back in the role of Willow. He is just so wonderful as this character and getting caught up with this fantastic character after all these years was like seeing an old friend!

The story has some fun moments, and there are aspects of it that I really like. But, there are also a few things about the series that completely pulled me out of that story and viewing experience. The series is full of modern sensibilities in the dialogue and tone, and while the story is supposed to be set in a fantasy world, there are moments where it feels like the characters were plucked out of our modern world and didn’t fit in with the fantasy world of Willow.

Another aspect of the series that bothered me about the series is the modern music that was incorporated. One of the things I loved most about the original movie was the brilliantly scored, beautiful music! That music is timeless! It’s one of my main attachments to the original film; the music just makes my soul swell with joy. The use of modern music in the series is another aspect that pulls me right out of the fantasy world, and it immediately dates the series and doesn’t have that timeless feel the film has.

I don’t understand putting modern music in a fantasy series. I’d be ok with it in the credits of the show, but not during it. A lot of this music is covers of well-known popular songs, and I actually like the covers! But, I just don’t care for how they are utilized in the series. It feels like it’s forced and an attempt to make the series feel hip to hook younger viewers. I don’t know the reasoning, but that’s my biggest gripe about the show.

I do like the story that’s being told, but it’s not as engaging as I was hoping for. I’m not engulfed in the story; I don’t feel like I’m experiencing this adventure in a fantasy world like the original film does for me. This just feels more modern, and because of that, some of the magical fantasy element is lost.

Jonathan Kasdan (Solo) wrote the pilot episode and will act as showrunner alongside Wendy Mericle (Arrow). This is not the review that I thought I’d be writing for this series! I just want to reiterate that there are things that I do like about the series such as aspects of the story and some of the ideas that are played with that I won’t spoil here. But, I just could never get fully immersed in the series. Warwick Davis was the best part of the show.