Christian Slater reacts to his surprise Willow casting announcement at the D23 Expo. The upcoming series serves as a sequel to the 1988 fantasy adventure film of the same name, directed by Ron Howard and based on a story from George Lucas. It followed Willow Ufgood and Madmartigan, played respectively by Warwick Davis and Val Kilmer, who set forth on a dangerous journey in order to protect a special baby from an evil queen wishing to prevent the fulfillment of a long foretold prophecy. Conversations surrounding a potential reboot had been circulating for years, but Howard officially confirmed Willow‘s development at Disney+ back in 2019.

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Set to be released on November 30, 2022, Willow will observe an unlikely group of heroes as they embark on an expedition to far-off places, facing inner demons and finding ways to come together to save the world. Davis will reprise his role as the titular Nelwyn dwarf sorcerer, along with Joanne Whalley, who played Sorsha in the original film. The rest of the series’ cast includes Ruby Cruz, Erin Kellyman, Ellie Bamber, Tony Revolori, Amber Chadha-Patel, Dempsey Bryk, and Rosabell Laurenti Sellers. Noticeably absent from the revival is Kilmer, whose character fell in love with Sorsha and adopted the baby Elora at the end of the movie, but executive producer Jonathan Kasdan teased that Madmartigan will still be a part of Willow. Slater, currently known for Mr. Robot and Dr. Death, became the most recent star to join when he was announced at this year’s D23 Expo.

Following his surprise casting announcement, Slater speaks with THR about the news and reveals why he wanted to be involved with Willow. In a clip posted to YouTube, the actor describes the moment as “intense,” and says it was thrilling to be a part of the event. While he cannot not share details on who he plays, Slater says he is excited for audiences to see his character more than any other. Read his quotes regarding being a part of Willow below:

This is intense. You walk in, you see Loki and Giovanni Ribisi, all these people, it’s unbelievable the amount of people that are here and backstage, I just saw Harrison Ford. That, to me, is very exciting, I grew up with that guy, I’ve always loved him, so it’s an exciting world to get to be a part of today.

Big fan of Jon Kasdan, big fan of Warwick Davis, he and I actually worked together over the summer, we did Spamalot: The Musical together, which was a lot of fun. So, to get the opportunity to come back and work together again and play this particular character that I’m really excited for everybody to see. I think I’m more excited for everybody to see this character than any other character, I really love this guy, it was a lot of fun.

In addition to Slater’s casting, D23 also gave fans a new poster and trailer for Willow, highlighting the show’s exciting adventure, as well as its diverse group of characters. In the same interview, when asked about why it was the right time to revisit Willow, the actor shares that while a lot of other content seems heavy, “a show like this, it just has a lot of charm, a lot of camaraderie.” He notes the chemistry between the cast and that the series does a good job evoking the spirit of the original film as well.

Fans are eagerly waiting to see who Slater ends up playing in the Willow sequel, especially since he could not be found in any of the new footage. The Golden Globe Award-winning actor certainly has the talent to take on any role, and with the excitement towards the series as a whole, it will be interesting to see if any further in-universe stories, possibly bringing back Kilmer, come out of this. Those looking forward to seeing Slater and others in Willow can be sure to tune in when it debuts on Disney+ in November.

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Source: The Hollywood Reporter