Willow's journey has ended, as Disney Plus has announced that there will be no Willow season 2 on the streaming service. Based on the 1988 movie of the same name, Willow was a continuation of the fantasy story that starred Warwick Davis. Deadline was the first to report that Willow would join the ranks of cancelled TV shows.
Disney Plus debuted Willow on November 30, 2022. The series took place years after the movie, where an unlikely group of heroes (including Davis' Willow Ufgood) as they set of on a quest to far off places where they must face their inner demons and come together to save the world. If you want the abridged version of the series, check out our Willow ending explained feature.
In addition to Davis, the Willow series starred Ruby Cruz, Ellie Bamber, Tony Revolori, Erin Kellyman, Amar Chadha-Patel, Dempsey Bryk, Joonas Suotamo and Joanne Whalley. The series scored an 83% "Fresh" rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, but a 66% from viewers.
This comes as the higher ups at Disney, particularly CEO Bob Iger, have talked about pulling back a bit on the amount of TV shows and movies that they develop, instead trying to focus on "quality over volume." That has been a common theme with streaming services over the last year, most noticeably with HBO Max cancelling and/or pulling shows from its streaming service, while Netflix has had a quick trigger finger on fan-favorite shows, including Warrior Nun.
There was no word on a Willow season 2 before this announcement, so this isn't quite as dramatic as those decisions. However, based on popular IP, it is surprising that Willow was unable make a dent.
That of course does not mean that there won't be plenty of new shows on Disney Plus, as The Skeleton Crew is a new Star Wars series and Marvel has Secret Invasion, both expected to come out in 2023. There are also a number of big time shows still in the pipeline on the streaming service, including Ahsoka, The Acolyte, Echo and Daredevil: Born Again.
You can watch all eight episodes of the Willow series exclusively on Disney Plus right now, as well as the original 1988 movie, though that is also available on digital on-demand if you do not have a subscription to the streaming service.
