Will Willow Season 2 Happen? Its Fate Is Sealed

If you're a fan of magic, whimsy, and epic quests, odds are you absolutely loved watching the newest Disney+ fantasy series, Willow, which serves as a sequel to the beloved 1988 film of the same name. Like its predecessor, Willow follows a band of courageous heroes as they embark on a dangerous mission — this time to rescue Prince Airk (Dempsey Bryk), who has been kidnapped by evil forces. Warwick Davis reprises his role as Willow Ufgood, a Nelwyn sorcerer charged with leading the company to victory, but will his venture succeed? While the end of Season 1 implied just that, it also left room for another (perhaps even bigger) adventure in a second season. Unfortunately, as fans anxiously awaited that Willow Season 2 pickup, Disney+ dropped a bomb about the show’s future.

With any given show, fans will typically always want more, especially when dealing with a fantasy series like Willow. There are so many characters to explore further and a vast array of magical hijinks to delve into. (After all, the sky's the limit when it comes to fantasy storylines.) And yet every channel and streaming service seems to have its own metrics for deciding what shows return and which ones fall by the wayside.

But for anything to move forward, you first need a willing and eager cast and crew to continue churning out more content. And while Willow creators seemed more than willing to give the people what they want, the Willow love from diehard fans sadly just wasn’t enough to save it. Disney just pulled the plug on our hope for Willow Season 2.

Wait, so Willow has been canceled?

Yes (*heavy sigh*). Willow has been canceled. The reboot series will not return for Season 2. Deadline first broke the news, hinting that Disney has hopes of continuing to expand their Star Wars content.

However, it’s important to note that just because it’s been canceled for now, doesn’t mean they won’t revisit it later. Willow is part of Lucasfilm, which performs like a neverending well of content and money for Disney+. While Willow is being shelved for now so that they can siphon their money into the much bigger Lucas brand, Star Wars, there’s always room to revisit it later. And, as we already know, there is a precedent for doing that. How long did we wait between the first set of Star Wars films and their prequels?

In fact, the show's producer Roopesh Parekh has indicated that the season finale leaves the story open for a possible second season. "I think that we complete this story, but we absolutely leave a lot of angles open for the future," Parekh told Comicbook.com back in November.

Additionally, Willow showrunner Jonathan Kasdan shared a similar sentiment at a press conference, as per Screenrant.com, sharing that he would love to expand the series beyond just one season. "We'd love to continue the story on. Where it seems to be that the street leads from movies to TV, I hope that we're headed toward a moment where the reverse direction can be done too," Kasdan stated. "The first thing we'd like to do is another season because we've got a lot more that we'd like to tell here."

Willow creator, Ron Howard, also recently talked about plans and ideas for a second season (or more) with The Hollywood Reporter.

“Well, there’s always been a hope and a plan for more seasons. There’s certainly more story to tell, but there’s nothing concrete that I can comment on right now,” Howard said. “From a creative standpoint, everybody is energized. Everybody loved working on Willow. It felt like it found its voice and its footing, so we’re just standing by.”

So, the good news is that the willingness and intention are there — it's just a matter of whether Disney+ will circle back around for Willow's journey to continue.

Was there even a story to tell for Willow Season 2?

Spoiler alert! Plot points pertinent to Season 1 ahead.

Actually, yes.

Let’s look at where we left things in Season 1, though. The very end of Willow saw Graydon flung into another dimension before Elora finally defeated the Crone. After that, Elora, Kit, Willow, and Thraxus set out to return home and honor their friend, Graydon, seemingly lost forever. Except in the final Willow scenes, we witness Graydon awaken in that new dimension and come face-to-face with the Wyrm, now taking on the image of Elora.

While Season 1 wrapped everything up nicely enough, the writers still left it open to a continuation of the saga, the chance for Graydon’s return, and the clear signs that the Order of the Wyrm is still alive and working. If you know a writer of any kind, you know that even if nothing official has been announced, the team behind Willow is all plotting what’s next, even if it’s for their own sense of closure. But those final scenes and hints of what is rumbling in Graydon’s new dimension certainly imply a need for Season 2.

Which cast members could have returned for Season 2?

Hopefully, as many cast members as possible would have been ready and willing to come back for another season. But again, no deals, negotiations, or contracts with the actors were made. We were all pumped at the thought of a second season for Willow. For now, though, we need to find a new fantasy show to watch.