Anyone who watched Lucasfilm’s new Disney+ show Willow won’t be surprised by this next sentence. The behind-the-scenes documentary, Willow: Behind the Magic, is only half-serious, much like the show it’s based on.
Willow’s cast and crew give viewers a sneak peek behind the scenes of the making of the show, while also weaving elaborate tales about star Warwick Davis’ narcissism, toxic on-set antics, and more. None of which is true, of course, and all of which is funny, but it gives the documentary a decidedly different tone from the ones on other Disney+ shows. Which, if you think about it, is right in line with what Willow the show itself is.
So, here are 16 facts we learned from its making-of documentary, a good number of which are actually true, and a few that are not.
People have been asking Ron Howard about Willow for decades
Ron Howard, director of the original Willow movie and producer of this sequel series, said that it was about 10 years after the original Willow came out that he began hearing from people, on a regular basis, who wanted to talk about Willow.
This was always George Lucas’ idea
Willow was the brainchild of George Lucas and, after the original film was released, Lucas didn’t want to make just a theatrical sequel — he thought TV would be the right place for it. Little did he know that 30 years later, that would come true.
The twins bonded over FaceTime
Dempsey Bryk, who place Prince Airk on the show, said he first met Ruby Cruz, who plays his sister, Princess Kit, via FaceTime. Two minutes into the chat he felt like he knew her, and that type of relationship trickled down to everyone on set.
The troll city of Skelling was real-ish
For episode six of the series, “Prisoners of Skellin,” the production built sets for the city of Skellin itself, which makes sense. But what makes it noteworthy is that the set wasn’t just a few walls repurposed and moved, it was a full maze unto itself.
Matching the original movie
Several scenes in Willow use footage, or are inspired by footage, from the original film. For those scenes, the sets were reconstructed (sometimes with the help of digital effects) so that new footage could be shot and combined seamlessly with the movie.
Bavmorda’s throne. Finally.
In the original movie, when the heroes approach Bavmorda’s throne, only a small part of the set was real. The rest was a matte painting (see above). For the show, the production finally built the throne room in full.
Real were-rats
Some of the coolest creatures in Willow are the werewolf rats that Boorman and Kit run into. The documentary shows that these were real creations, brought to life by talented puppeteers and effects specialists.
Warwick Davis was the on-set medic and make-up artist
Though he has no actual medical training, Willow himself, Warwick Davis, was the on-set medic for the production. He also did everyone’s makeup, except his own.
Oh, right, here’s where the jokes begin.
Warwick Davis transported most of the actors to set
Warwick Davis also, reportedly, picked up each actor at their home and brought them to the set personally. Well, all except one actor.
The Elora Danon rivalry
Angry that Elora Danon, played by Ellie Bamber, was going to be a lead on the show, Davis reportedly didn’t pick the actress up for work and would constantly break her wands, making work very difficult.
Remember what we said about joking right?
The actors did many of their own stunts
This one’s real: though the actors all had stunt performers, whenever possible they did their own stunts. To prepare, they went through a month-long boot camp before shooting to train and learn fight choreography. No choreography was installed into the show unless the actors could do it.
Wales was Willow country
The original Willow was filmed in a few places, one of which was Wales. And so for the Disney+ show, production was primarily in Wales, both in a studio in Cardiff and all around the country. Apparently, within a hour drive from Cardiff, the show could find beaches, forests, lakes, valleys, and mountains, all of which were used for location shooting.
Warwick Davis invented the colon
What is the “colon,” you ask? Well, the actor claims he invented the idea of continuing a franchise but added a colon and a subtitle and then takes us through a few of the titles he pitched Ron Howard over the years. Willow: Bavmorda’s Revenge, Willow: Lost in New York, Willow: Spring Break: Miami Beach (a double colon, according to Davis), and then; Willow: Willow’s Colon, which was a PSA on gastroenterology.
A long-standing rivalry
Davis claims that he used to be friends with Christian Slater but, after Slater stole his idea for a movie in the 1980s, they haven’t talked since — until they made Willow of course. Davis even says if Slater is on Disney+, they should change it to Disney minus.
Gleeful representation
Stars Ruby Cruz and Erin Kellyman both geek out about the fact that they got to not just have a queer love story with their characters, but do it with Disney, which means so many more people will get to see it.
Amar Chadha-Patel is a klutz
This one we think is a joke (like all the Warwick Davis stuff) but is played a bit more seriously than the rest. Basically, the documentary claims the actor can barely stand on his own two feet and is always falling down.
Willow: Behind the Magic is now streaming on Disney+, along with all of Willow’s first season.