‘Willow’ Canceled on Disney+ After One Season

It looks like Willow’s run on Disney+ has come to an end. The series was canceled shortly after its first – and now, only – season aired on the streaming platform. 

The series served as a sequel to the 1988 movie from George Lucas and Ron Howard. Willow was received well by critics, though it did not break the Nielsen Top 10 rankings of streaming titles while it aired. The news if its cancellation comes just two months after the first season finished airing in January.

Warwick Davis reprised his iconic role as Willow Ufgood, who leads a gang of misfit heroes on a quest to save their world. He was joined by co-stars ​​Ellie Bamber, Amer Chadha-Patel, Ruby Cruz, Erin Kellyman and Tony Revolori. 

It was part of a fresh slate of Star Wars television shows from Lucasfilm that were exclusively available on Disney+, such as The Mandalorian and Andor. 

Willow was hailed by fans and viewers for having the very first on-screen lesbian relationship in Lucasfilm history. Davis spoke on the show’s broader approach to inclusion in an interview in 2022 before the series premiere.

“I think it’s so important that art reflects what we see in the world,” he said at the time. “People with dwarfism are often not represented properly in film and in television. But we do see that in Willow. And we’d love to actually expand upon that if we do more seasons.”

This news comes soon after Disney CEO Bob Iger said the company is being “very careful” about creating further Star Wars movies after Solo had a disappointing box office turnout in 2018.

Iger did, however, acknowledge that the franchise’s television shows have been “extremely successful.” 

Jonathan Kasdan, who co-wrote Solo, developed and wrote Willow. Ron Howard also returned to direct and serve as executive producer on the show. 

Willow Season 1 is now streaming on Disney+.