Harry Potter wouldn't have existed without Willow , says Disney+ series creator

Before there was the boy who lived, there was Elora Danan.

When fans of 1988 fantasy film Willow first read or saw Harry Potter, they might have seen some parallels in the idea of a baby left on a doorstep prophesied to defeat a great evil. At least Jonathan Kasdan did.

"When Harry Potter became this cultural phenomenon on the level of Star Wars, [I started thinking about Willow]," he tells EW, while previewing footage of the new Disney+ Willow series he created in a Lucasfilm edit bay. "It's hard not to look at the opening of Harry Potter, which is a baby being left on a doorstep, and equate it to this in a way that's pretty clear. You've got to wonder if J.K. Rowling wasn't thinking about this a little bit."

Peter Mountain/Warner Bros; MGM/Everett Daniel Radcliffe in 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone' and Warwick Davis in 'Willow'

Kasdan is, of course, referring to the baby that is Elora Danan, a red-headed child prophesied to bring about the downfall of evil sorceress Queen Bavmorda (Jean Marsh), who is ferried to safety and discovered by Willow Ufgood (Warwick Davis), a simple farmer. Willow is unaware of Elora's identity until he is swept up into an adventure to protect her and bring about Bavmorda's end.

The 1988 film directed by Ron Howard never took off in the way other Lucasfilm properties like Star Wars and Indiana Jones did, but Kasdan — son of The Empire Strikes Back and Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan — always hoped there would be a sequel some day. "From the moment it ended, and the credits rolled, I thought, 'Well, there's going to be more,'" he says. "This has always been in the back of my head."

He was 8 years old when he first saw Willow at the Village Theater in Westwood, Calif. (where, as it happens, the TV series is having its premiere). And it left a strong impression.

"It was this sense of danger," he reflects. "I remember still having some trepidation about movie theaters as a whole idea. It was like, here's this very dark place and this very big screen — and the people were very big. This movie falls into this very special category of '80s movies that were really kind of scary. And the dangers of it were very real. For it to be so laced with humor and heart and ideas about heroism, but charged by this real tension, it was a profound experience for me."

Lucasfilm Ruby Cruz, Amar Chadha-Patel, Tony Revolori, and Warwick Davis in Disney+ series 'Willow'

So profound that when Kasdan first met original Willow director Ron Howard while making 2018's Solo: A Star Wars Story together, it was one of the first things they discussed. "From that moment onward, we've been steadily building toward this," he says.

He was partly emboldened to bring the idea to the table because Howard himself had often spoken about doing more Willow, despite the fact that the original film was a box-office disappointment (it opened to $8.3 million, topping out at $52.3 million worldwide). "There was an era of maybe 12 years where Ron would get asked questions about it, and he'd say like, 'Oh yeah, George and I always talk about how we should continue this,'" Kasdan recalls. "And I believe that it's true that when they'd get together, they'd say, 'Willow.' And George would say, 'Yeah, Willow. Let's do something.' But I don't think it ever progressed past that."

For Kasdan, the starting point was always going to be Elora Danan. "That baby provided somewhere for the story to go in a way that I've always sought with these sequels," he says. "I always ask, 'Is there a reason to keep telling it?' And I was curious what happened to that child and what she would do with that power."

But as much as Elora might be the core reason to continue the story, Kasdan was also determined not to forge ahead without the full blessing and buy-in of the film's original star Warwick Davis, who was only 17 when he made the film (and perhaps somewhat ironically went on to play Professor Flitwick in the Harry Potter films).

Lucasfilm Warwick Davis in Disney+ 'Willow' series

"There wouldn't have been any continuation of the story if Warwick hadn't been in," says Kasdan. "And the moment when I met Ron in 2018 was also the moment I met Warwick and said to him, 'I'm a huge fan. I love Willow, and I'm trying to get [Kathleen Kennedy] to do more of it.' Because at that time, Warwick was busy doing [British TV series] Life's Too Short and a lot of work that indicated that he had enormous potential to carry something."

Other returning cast members include Joanne Whalley as Sorsha, now Queen, and Kevin Pollak and Rick Overton as comic relief brownie duo Rool and Franjean. Though Val Kilmer's Madmartigan looms large in the storytelling, he was unable to reprise his role due to logistical challenges caused by health concerns amidst the pandemic.

But more important than returning cast was capturing the spirit of the original film — that blend of danger and fun that Kasdan so vividly remembers from his first viewing. "It's really what George Lucas' whole legacy is about, and what I'm so in awe of with Lucasfilm," he gushes. "The reason both [executive producer] Michelle Rejwan and I were so drawn to working here is because, between Raiders of the Lost Ark and Star Wars, he created such a specific identity in that cultural moment as the guy who was going to bring you the presents. He was going to bring you the toys to play with at Christmas. And it was just the joy of stories."

As Rejwan puts it, "It hits that spot where you have real danger and great characters, but it's a blast."

That's a welcome breath of fresh air in a fantasy landscape that is dominated by dark, violent stories that revel more in power struggles, incest, and bleak social commentary. Which is exactly what Kasdan and Rejwan were going for. "It is supposed to be fun, and it is supposed to be an escapist moment for people who crave that more than...what you're describing," Kasdan quips.

The fun begins Nov. 30 when the first two episode of Willow debut on Disney+.

Related content:

• How Warwick Davis and Willow costars handled pressure of making TV series: It 'kept us on our game'

• Joanne Whalley promises that the older, wiser Sorsha is still a badass in new Willow series

• Willow Disney+ sequel series gets Christian Slater and a fiery first trailer