1988’s Willow was a dark fantasy adventure dreamt up by a young George Lucas in 1972 before he ever put pen to paper for Star Wars. In 1986, the project began to come together with director Ron Howard, writer Bob Dolman and Lucas developing the script. Somewhere along the way, likely due to Dolman’s comedic chops, Willow became a far funnier fantasy film than contemporaries such as Kull and Labyrinth. Though it wasn’t a critical success, Willow developed a cult following and a fanbase that clamored for a sequel for over 30 years. That sequel will soon debut on Disney Plus and according to one of its stars, the spirit of the original lives on in the streaming series.
During the global press conference for the upcoming streaming series, Warwick Davis, who reprises his role as Willow Ufgood, writer Jon Kasdan was able to embue Willow with the same sense of humor as the original.
It’s important that we took that kind of ethos from the film, the humor, because that’s what really set ‘Willow’ apart from the other fantasy offerings of the 80s, was that it could look at itself and laugh and not take itself seriously. But also, as well as being a great kind of fantasy writer and sci-fi writer, Jon is also a very good comic writer as well.
Warwick Davis
While the 1988 film certainly wasn’t a full-on slapstick comedy, it was filled with laughs, often at the expense of Willow’s struggles with magic. In an attempt to recapture that magic, Dolman returned to write two episodes of the upcoming streaming series. Unfortunately, another source of comedic relief, Val Kilmer’s Madmartigan, is mysteriously absent from the series, though his presence is certainly felt throughout. The series is certainly much more light-hearted in tone than what fans have come accustomed to seeing in recent fantasy series such as Game ofThrones and The Rings of Power while still finding a nice balance of action as fans will find out for themselves when it begins streaming on Disney Plus on November 30th.
The upcoming One Piece adaptation heading to Netflix will explore the East Blue saga, the early days of Monkey D. Luffy setting out to sea to become the pirate king. When the manga first was released in 1997, the world wasn’t quite set in stone when Eiichiro Oda started working on a manga that would end up running for over 25 years. So, a lot has happened and evolved ever since.
In a new video, showrunner Matt Owens got a chance to tease a bit of what’s to come with the franchise while also reflecting on previous attempts at adaptation. While highlighting they won’t force any new additions that fundamentally change the characters, he did end the video highlighting his favorite part: Easter eggs.
This is my favorite part of my job. Pay attention because the Easter eggs! Look at everything we know about the One Piece world now versus when the East Blue was being done. Watch for Easter Eggs! Pay attention to any wanted poster, newspaper, or a bit of dialogue. Pause things, screenshot!
Matt Owens
As he points out, we know a lot more now about where the franchise would head and it opens up many avenues to include small references to future events or characters. The inclusion of wanted posters while highlighting the Easter eggs means that we’re going to have to keep a very close eye on what this series might be hiding. Here’s hoping that we don’t have to wait too long until we get the first glimpse.
Things change in adaptation, but a good adaptation still stays true to the characters and their world. Yet, there are some aspects that don’t quite translate, especially when one takes cultural differences into account with manga or anime adaptations. Even with a popular franchise like One Piece, there are some aspects that might just not work when translated.
While discussing if they’ll add romance elements to the series, showrunner Matt Owens also discussed how they approached the character of Sanji. He’s pretty much someone that does anything for a woman and has even been seen as a more controversial character with some moments souring his development; Thriller Bark comes to mind. So, the question was how would they bring this to live-action and it seems they are focusing more on the character simply being “flirtatious” according to Owens.
In a way. Sanji is very flirtatious, he loves women but […] he’s not as much of a simp. He’s more a flirt than a simp.
Matt Owens
He highlights that they “tweaked it a little bit” and actor Taz Skylar will likely still keep the charm that made the character popular, but we shouldn’t expect his usual antics from the manga. They do also jokingly reference that we definitely won’t be seeing his usual heart-shaped eyes which are a classic manga trope. While Owens doesn’t give away too many details on how they approached the character, it definitely feels like they are keeping the spirit of the character alive but also toning down some aspects.
Many adaptations make changes or add elements that try to enrich the world, or simply adapt them to the new format. We’ve seen in the past how Dragonball Evolution turned Goku’s relationship with Chichi into a high school romance early on in the film. While that adaptation is widely hated for straying completely away from the material, it wasn’t the last to make changes that alter facets of the project it’s adapting.
In the case of Tomorrow Land and Netflix’s adaptation of One Piece, there was also some concern that we’d see new elements get added to this adaptation. Luckily, showrunner Matt Owens opened up on the fact that the show will not force romantic interests into the series, as he believes “that kills the characters” and equates the Straw Hats pirates to siblings in a video with influencer Nux Taku.
The Straw Hats if you want to qualify their relationships in any way, are all siblings. It’s a family. There’s no romance between Straw Hats.
Matt Owens
They do jokingly reference Sanji, a character that seemingly has a crush on Nami and Robin throughout the original’s run, but it never leads to anything romantic. It’s refreshing to see Owens want to preserve the relationship of the Nakama aboard the Going Merry as it was in the original, especially not trying to force a romantic subplot into the story that doesn’t truly add anything outside of conflict. Shippers will still have their headcanons but it seems the show isn’t going to stray from the dynamic of the original manga.
One Piece is celebrating its 25th anniversary in a big way. We’ve finally wrapped up the Wano arc and have entered the “final saga.” That isn’t all, as showrunners Steven Maeda and Matt Owens have also been actively working on a live-action adaptation of the long-running manga series by Eiichiro Oda. With live-action anime adaptations rarely hitting the mark, there’s the question if a cartoony series like One Piece could be adapted.
It seems that Owens shared that concern when he pitched to Tomorrow Studios, who hold the rights to the franchise. In an interview with influencer Nux Taku, they watched failed adaptations in the past, where he also shared his initial pitch for the project. He shares that he wanted to make sure if anyone screwed up adapting One Piece, he wanted to make sure it was at least someone who loved the original.
The thing that got me this job was when I first met with Tomorrow Studios when they had the rights, I said to them in my first meeting: “I don’t know if this can be done, but I also know if this is going to get fucked up, I have to be the one to try and fuck it up. Cause you’re not going to meet anybody in this industry that knows or loves One Piece more than me. That was the pitch that I made.
Matt Owens
He also highlights the challenge of adapting anime, such as how Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop leaned too heavily into Ed’s out-there personality that doesn’t translate effectively into live-action. Even long before production started, Owens has been quite active within the One Piece community to share his views on the best way to adapt it, and we also recently learned that Oda is heavily involved to ensure the spirit of the original remainsalive in this adaptation. The more we hear about this project, the more one can believe they’ll truly pull it off this time around. The only thing missing is some actual footage to go along with it.
2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story didn’t truly land with audiences or critics. More than that, it seems to have inspired Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy’s decision not to recast iconic roles. Having done so unsuccessfully with one of Harrison Ford’s most iconic roles, Kennedy refuses to do it again even as Ford’s last adventure as Indiana Jones prepares to hit theaters, choosing to create an Indy-adjacent streaming series for Disney Plus rather than misfire on another recast. However, not all the takeaways from Solo were negative; in fact, it turns out that some behind-the-scenes conversations during its production were the genesis of the Disney Plus streaming series Willow.
During the global press conference for the upcoming series, star Warwick Davis, who first starred as Willow Ufgood when he was 17 years old, shared his belief that despite many attempts to get a follow-up to the 1988 movie off the ground, it would never happen. “For years it’s been talked about, not by anyone official but by the fans“, said Davis. “They’ve constantly pestered me“, he continued, “saying ‘when are we going to see a sequel to that movie?’ And it’s a question that I could never answer.”
A question, Davis says, he wasn’t able to answer until fate intervened. A Willow sequel seemed impossible for the star “Until I met Jon Kasdan“, said Davis of the writer and executive producer of the Willow streaming series. It turns out Kasdan, the son of frequent Lucasfilm collaborator Lawrence Kasdan who also worked on the script for Solo. As it turned out, Kasdan the younger was a fan of the Willow film as a kid and, according to Davis, joined him in feeling the time was right for a sequel series.
We decided that there should indeed be more ‘Willow,’ and so that was the catalyst for this project to happen, really, and it happened very quickly in Hollywood terms. You know, it wasn’t years and years of development, before I knew it I was sat on set, in Wales for the very first day of filming. Once again looking just like ‘Willow, but a slightly older, more mature, better-looking version. Sexier.
Warwick Davis
Of course, it didn’t hurt the chances of a follow-up happening that the conversations about it happened on the set of Solo, where Ron Howard, who directed Willow, was helming the Star Wars origin story. According to Kasdan, the three of them formed a triumvirate that believed there was more story to tell.
There was the impulse certainly between Ron and Warwick and myself to continue this story, and return to this world. And I came at it as a fan, and they came at it both as the creators, and they found a champion in me, and I kept fighting and sort of hoping that we’d get a chance to go back here, and my ace was always that Warwick would be back and that he would look so attractive and America would – and the world – would really fall on their knees. I think everyone got that, and everyone appreciated that, that there was something really special in the opportunity to bring this character back to the screen.
Jon Kasdan
Fans of the original film will have a chance to decide for themselves how necessary the sequel series is when Willow streams on Disney Plus beginning November 30th.
Star Wars has grown quite a bit since its purchase by Disney. They started off with a new trilogy that further explored the aftermath of the original, tested out some unique spinoffs, and went on to establish a variety of TV series on Diseny+. At the moment, Andor has been dominating the Internet with a prequel series to Rogue One, but it’s not the only prequel entry with the protagonist’s name in the title.
Back in 2018, we had the first prequel film that featured Alden Ehrenreich in the leading role of a younger Han Solo. Sadly, the film wasn’t quite the box office draw that many hoped it would be, but it still told an interesting story and has a set up that still hasn’t seen a payoff to this day. It seems writer Jon Kasdan agrees, as he’d love to return and tackle a sequel even after all this time.
The reason for a Solo 2 is if there’s a great reason and certainly I’d be game if there was…there were so many great characters we were able to establish, and for me, the strongest argument for a Solo 2 is the movie was Alden’s journey to owning that mantle, and by the end of it I thought he really did, and he didn’t get the fun of getting to just inhabit it for a movie, so I’d love to see him back.
Jon Kasdan
Any project tackling one of the original trilogy’s main casts was going to face an upward battle. Ehrenreich‘s recasting was an inspired and fitting choice, but the controversy surrounding it led to Lucasfilm preferring to digitally de-age its actors, such as Mark Hamill reprising his role as Luke Skywalker in The Mandalorian. For now, we’ll have to wait if they might decide to tackle a sequel at some point, or at least pick up where the film left off.
While many downplayed a prequel series to Rogue One‘s Cassian Andor, the Disney+ series has quickly become a fan-favorite. Unlike the previous series on the streaming platform, it feels the most detached from the weight of Star Wars legacy. We did see some familiar faces, but they don’t overstay their welcome in a series that doesn’t hide away from the darkest aspects of the Empire’s rule.
Diego Luna’s return as Andor gave the series a familiar face while telling a very detached story from the original film, but the upcoming second season will start introducing some familiar elements. The biggest hope for Rogue One was the arrival of the fan-favorite droid K-2SO, voiced by Alan Tudyk, and in an interview with Collider, showrunner Tony Gilroy seemingly hints that the character will finally join.
Well, I think that’s one of the responsibilities of Part 2. Obviously, if we’re going to walk into Rogue, we have to deal with that.
Tony Gilroy
It’s ironic that when the show was initially announced, it seemed like K-2SO would feature in the series before suddenly Tudyk confirmed he wasn’t involved with the production. Seeing how the show tackled the Empire from the eyes of Andor, it does make sense that wanting to give him a more personal story it might’ve been too early to introduce the character. Keeping him for the second season opens up more potential, especially in how it established Andor’s overall view of the Empire. So an Empire droid ending up on his side might take the reluctant Rebel on a wild ride.
The Season One finale of Andor cemented the series as one of Star Wars’ best projects to date and almost certainly the most complete of its offerings on Disney Plus. The episode also featured a post-credit scene that clarified a much-theorized plot point from earlier in the season as it showed to what end the parts being made in the prison on Narkina 5 were being used: to assemble the first Death Star. While that scene makes for yet another interesting connection to the events of Rogue One, namely why Cassian was willing to give his life to ensure the Death Star plans got to the Rebels after potentially learning he helped build the weapon, it also may end a long-standing debate first put forth nearly 30 years ago about the second Death Star.
In Kevin Smith’s 1994 film Clerks, the film’s deuteragonists, Randal and Dante, enter into an ethical debate about the destruction of the second Death Star as seen in Return of the Jedi. Though DS-2 was, as the Emperor put it, “fully armed and operational”, it was still under construction when it was destroyed by Lando Calrissian. As Randal explained to Dante in Clerks, something about the attack “just never sat right” with him. As Dante questions him, Randal reveals that he believes a project of that magnitude would take more manpower than even the Empire could muster, meaning they must have brought in independent contractors to finish the job. Assuming they all died in the explosion, Randal believes they were innocent “casualties of a war they had nothing to do with” but Dante is not so sure. Though he doesn’t express it, Dante seems to believe that anyone willing to build a Death Star isn’t innocent. The debate is famously settled when a third party comes in and, while paying for his coffee, tells the pair that any real contractor thinks with his heart and “not his wallet.”
The events of the post-credit scene of the season finale of Andor seem to render the debate moot. While Randal was likely correct in presuming that the Empire didn’t have enough manpower to build DS-2 so quickly, neither he nor Dante posited the possibility that the Empire simply employed droids. Given the fact that droids played an integral role in constructing DS-1, it stands to reason they’d play at least an equal role in the construction of DS-2 meaning that the number of innocent independent contractors who meet their doom at the hands of Lando. Maybe Smith can work the events of Andor into another film down the road.
If you’re looking for a 40-minute Marvel Studios Special Presentation that changes the entire landscape of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special isn’t going to satisfy your craving. While the special does somewhat surprisingly advance a few plot points, those ultimately feel like bits that happen here to save precious minutes of screentime in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which will almost certainly change the entire landscape of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Director James Gunn has made it quite clear that Vol. 3 is the end for this group of Guardians and that it’s a love letter to Rocket, who he’s openly described as a character he loves more than any other he’s ever written and one who he believes deserves a “spectacular” final chapter. If Vol. 3 is a love letter to Rocket, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is a shorter and less spectacular love letter to a pair of characters who have yet to truly have been in the spotlight in any of the Guardians’ appearances to date. If you’re looking for a 40-minute Marvel Studios Special Presentation that puts Drax and Mantis and their odd couple relationship front and center, The Guardiansof the Galaxy Holiday Special is going to land just fine.
Star-Lord and Gamora have certainly had their time in the spotlight over the course of Guardians of the Galaxy, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Avengers: Infinity War. Somewhat surprisingly, Nebula, who is a much less important character in the comics, has been given ample time to shine in Guardians of the Galaxy, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. And though Rocket is going to be the star of the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 show, he and Groot have had quite a bit of attention. Despite having a very compelling arc in the Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning comics on which Gunn has based his film version of the Guardians, Drax hasn’t been much other than muscle and comic relief and Mantis has been around mostly to make funny faces and occasionally use her powers when convenient.
To be fair, Gunn is certainly well-aware that the two characters haven’t ever really been given the time that the others have. Recognizing that and the great chemistry that exists between Dave Bautista and Pom Klementieff, Gunn once approached Marvel Studios about a Drax and Mantis spin-off film. While the director was told there would be no room on the theatrical slate for such a piece, he also said that while it might not be a movie, the pitch hadn’t been forgotten. And ultimately, as theorized here, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Specialturned out the be the Drax and Mantis show, complete with exactly the type of humor audiences have come to expect from the pair.
The backdrop for the adventures of the two is truly steeped in the fact that these Guardians have been and continue to be a family. The special opens with Kraglin tells Nebula, Drax and Mantis a short story about how Yondu once ruined Christmas for Peter. Still reeling from the loss of Gamora, a rough-looking Peter Quill seems to exist as a shell of the once brash and bravado-filled Star-Lord he once was. Mantis, whose big “secret” gives her a reason to feel a bit more responsible for trying to break Peter out of his slump, hatches a plan with Drax to give Peter a great Christmas by giving him a present that he will never forget. To Drax, there’s only a Kevin Bacon will do. Drax and Mantis head to Earth where holiday shenanigans ensue.
Of the pair, Klementieff’s Mantis truly takes the lead and is given the most to do. In the comics, the character was a highly-skilled martial artist and while she’s had a few tussles in the MCU, she’s mostly been relegated to putting characters to sleep or manipulating their emotions. Make no mistake, she does her fair share of that here too, but she also gets to show off some slick hand-to-hand moves. Bautista’s Drax has his fair share of funny moments as well, though he seems at times to be doing more belly-laughing than talking. The duo’s adventures on Earth only take up about 25% of the special’s runtime, but ultimately provide 90% of the laughs. Returning to space, they manage to give Peter-and Kevin Bacon-a Christmas they’ll never forget.
The special is full of everything fans of Gunn’s work with the Guardians have come to expect. While it’s not essential viewing for casual fans, the story absolutely adds to the overall story and emotional core of the Guardians. Gunn’s at his best when exploring the dynamic of this misfit group and by watching the special, hardcore MCU fans will find themselves feeling even more emotionally invested in the group; in that way, it’s almost unfair to have an inkling of what Vol. 3 is set to do to them. It’s also worth noting that this project could never have been done as well as it was without Gunn behind it. His emotional investment in these characters and their family make it work. And of course, there’s the music. From the hilariously off-beat Christmas jam written by Gunn and belted out by the Old 97’s in the opening to the interesting, to Hanoi Rocks’ “Dead By Christmas” and, of course, Kevin Bacon rocking out in space, the soundtrack hits the requisite holiday beats while triggering emotions throughout.
Marvel Studios is on to something with these short-form special presentations and are definitely 2-for-2 following Werewolf By Night with The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. While not essential viewing, this one is going to play well for hardcore and casual fans alike as it gives just enough of a narrative push to the story of the Guardians while helping us all remember how important family is this time of year.
Cookie Consent
We use cookies to improve your experience on our site. By using our site, you consent to cookies.
This website uses cookies
Websites store cookies to enhance functionality and personalise your experience. You can manage your preferences, but blocking some cookies may impact site performance and services.
Essential cookies enable basic functions and are necessary for the proper function of the website.
Name
Description
Duration
Cookie Preferences
This cookie is used to store the user's cookie consent preferences.
30 days
These cookies are needed for adding comments on this website.
Name
Description
Duration
comment_author_email
Used to track the user across multiple sessions.
Session
comment_author_url
Used to track the user across multiple sessions.
Session
comment_author
Used to track the user across multiple sessions.
Session
Statistics cookies collect information anonymously. This information helps us understand how visitors use our website.
Google Analytics is a powerful tool that tracks and analyzes website traffic for informed marketing decisions.
Contains information related to marketing campaigns of the user. These are shared with Google AdWords / Google Ads when the Google Ads and Google Analytics accounts are linked together.
90 days
__utma
ID used to identify users and sessions
2 years after last activity
__utmt
Used to monitor number of Google Analytics server requests
10 minutes
__utmb
Used to distinguish new sessions and visits. This cookie is set when the GA.js javascript library is loaded and there is no existing __utmb cookie. The cookie is updated every time data is sent to the Google Analytics server.
30 minutes after last activity
__utmc
Used only with old Urchin versions of Google Analytics and not with GA.js. Was used to distinguish between new sessions and visits at the end of a session.
End of session (browser)
__utmz
Contains information about the traffic source or campaign that directed user to the website. The cookie is set when the GA.js javascript is loaded and updated when data is sent to the Google Anaytics server
6 months after last activity
__utmv
Contains custom information set by the web developer via the _setCustomVar method in Google Analytics. This cookie is updated every time new data is sent to the Google Analytics server.
2 years after last activity
__utmx
Used to determine whether a user is included in an A / B or Multivariate test.
18 months
_ga
ID used to identify users
2 years
_gali
Used by Google Analytics to determine which links on a page are being clicked
30 seconds
_ga_
ID used to identify users
2 years
_gid
ID used to identify users for 24 hours after last activity
24 hours
_gat
Used to monitor number of Google Analytics server requests when using Google Tag Manager
1 minute
Marketing cookies are used to follow visitors to websites. The intention is to show ads that are relevant and engaging to the individual user.
Pinterest Tag is a web analytics service that tracks and reports website traffic.
