Jonathan Kasdan Wanted Willow's Boorman To Keep The Spirit Of Val Kilmer In The Show

This post contains spoilers for the first episode of Willow.

No Tolkien-esque fantasy epic is complete without a ragtag group of heroes boasting a menagerie of personalities, and the "Willow" series is no exception. A sequel set 20 years after the 1988 film of the same name, the show's leads include Warwick Davis's titular Nelwyn sorcerer (who's a bit gruffer but otherwise the same plucky hero we met in the original movie), Ruby Cruz's Princess Kit (a capable warrior but one who could stand to check her privilege), and Erin Kellyman as Kit's friend/love interest, the ever patient knight-in-training Jade. Among those joining them on their quest to save the kingdom of Tir Asleen are Tony Revolori's scholarly if inexperienced Prince Graydon and Ellie Bamber as "Dove," a wide-eyed kitchen maid who learns she's really Elora Danan, the future Empress of Tir Asleen and, in essence, the show's Chosen One.

Of course, every band of adventurers also needs a swaggering, sassy scoundrel — preferably one who's good with a sword — to play off the more serious members of the party. But where the '80s film had Val Kilmer's Madmartigan (aka Kit's father) to fill that position, the "Willow" TV series has Amar Chadha-Patel's Thraxus Boorman, a snarky swordsman who, it turns out, was actually mentored by Madmartigan on their own dangerous quest many years ago. And while Chadha-Patel does a very good job of channeling Madmartigan's spirit without merely rehashing Kilmer's performance (telling us in a previous interview he "never wanted to step on [Kilmer's] toes,") show-runner Jonathan Kasdan has affirmed that his ultimate goal with Boorman was, in fact, to keep the spirit of Madmartigan alive and well on the series.

Val Kilmer quietly returned to the spotlight in 2021 thanks to Leo Scott and Ting Poo's acclaimed documentary "Val," a movie that includes a good deal of personal footage shot by Kilmer throughout his life and details his bout with throat cancer in the mid-2010s. He would go on to briefly (but memorably) reprise his role as Tom "Iceman" Kazansky in the hit sequel "Top Gun: Maverick" and was all set to return as Madmartigan for the "Willow" show. Sadly, however, he was forced to drop out at the last minute when he — quite understandably — decided it would've been too risky for his health post-cancer to travel and work on a series in the middle of a pandemic.

In an interview with Collider, Jonathan Kasdan indicated that Kilmer's absence spurred him to ensure his character's spirit could be keenly felt in Boorman. At the same time, he also had to ensure the latter was different enough to avoid coming across as little more than a Madmartigan knockoff. "It's a hard thing to do, and we wanted to tie it very much to his character," he explained, noting that, in many ways, he envisioned a younger Boorman was influenced by Madmartigan in some of the same ways he was growing up watching Kilmer in the "Willow" movie:

"I wanted to paint this picture in the audience's mind of this skinny 16-year-old Boorman chasing after Madmartigan, and learning all of his sense of humor and approach to the world from Val's character because I feel a little bit that way."

Jonathan Kasdan, like other people of his generation, has spoken before about the deep imprint the "Willow" film and other dark 1980s kids' movies left on his psyche. Yet, for all the ways those films traumatized him (in a good way, mind you), they also left him wanting to emulate the likes of Madmartigan and their ability to laugh in the face of danger, even when they're terrified out of their wits. Kasdan felt the character would've had a similar impact on a teenage Boorman, telling Collider:

"I feel like that recklessness and sort of cockiness ... for kids of my generation, that was just like, 'That's who we want to be.' And we're vulnerable and afraid often, and very loving, but we dress it up in this sort of, 'Who gives a s***? I'm cool with everything,' attitude. And that was a gift to me of Val's, and I wanted it to be a gift to [the Boorman] character ..."

For all the ways the "Willow" series admittedly suffers narratively from having to navigate around Madmartigan's absence without simply writing him off the show, there's also something to admire in the sincerity with which the series aspires to keep his memory alive and ever-present in the back of its viewers' minds. And who knows? If the streaming masses decide they would like to return to Tir Asleen in the future, they may yet get to see their other favorite cocky sword-swinging antihero back in action one day.

Both the "Willow" film and sequel series are now streaming on Disney+.