Warwick Davis's Approach To Returning As Willow Was Inspired By Luke Skywalker's The Last Jedi Arc

2022 saw the return of deep magic. George R. R. Martin's "Game of Thrones" universe made its way back to the small screen with "House of the Dragon" while J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth was re-imagined for the series "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power." Never to be outdone, Lucasfilm drew George Lucas' high fantasy (no, not that one) "Willow" out of memory for a sequel series. Sure, these projects are wholly unrelated, but it's kind of funny that all three dropped within a few months of each other, right?

Of these fantastical tales, "Willow" fosters the most singular intrigue, if only on the merit that it mustn't shoulder the strenuous weight of expectation that comes tied with ongoing blockbuster productions. Or, perhaps a better way of saying that is this: The "Willow" sequel series get a little more breathing room than its fellow fantasies, something larger fandoms are loathe to provide.

And that means cast members like Warwick Davis, who returned to his titular role as the Nelwyn magician with a kind heart and a quicker temper, were able to adapt their characters in a way befitting all the life experience they accrued in the intervening decades since the original 1988 cinematic release. Among those life experiences which inspired his latest performance, Davis specifically cited another prominent actor's return to a Lucasfilm franchise. Here's the ironic (or appropriate, for those who actually clicked that last hyperlink) story.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Warwick Davis shared that his return to "Willow" as Willow was inspired by Mark Hamill's return to "Star Wars" as Luke Skywalker in "The Last Jedi," the legendary Jedi who spent his younger years saving the galaxy and his elderly years living that sweet, sweet hermit life. Davis explained:

"The one thing I took note of in particular was Mark Hamill returning to Luke Skywalker [in 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi'] and how he went about the approach for that ... it wasn't the expected approach, certainly. He came at it from quite a different angle, and I also did the same ... Mark didn't try to play the character younger. He just leaned into his more mature years, and that's really what I did as Willow ... the first time I played the character, I was only 17. So I thought, 'Well, let's not deny the fact that [I'm] 52. Let's use that to make this character more interesting, more grounded and more well-rounded as well' ... the world that we find Willow in is a different one than we last saw ... he's had a lot of dark experiences in his own life ... and, as an actor, I have to add all of that knowledge into the character's situation and use that to reflect out in my performance."

Careful with skimming that quote because it could easily be misinterpreted as Davis claiming the "Willow" series is a dark, gritty reboot (it's very much not). All Davis is saying is that he's comfortable being himself in his age, and that Hamill's performance bolstered his confidence to be so. By all accounts, Davis' resolution worked for the show's creative team.

"Willow" is streaming on Disney+.