The Making of Willow/Shadow Moon

The origins of the Willow movie (and its offspring, the Shadow Moon fantasy series) can be traced back to the early 70's. According to George Lucas, this was about the time when he came up with the story for Willow. Unfortunately, Lucas' vision for the film included visual effects that would not be developed for at least another decade. Even if the technology did exist, it would undoubtedly be very expensive, and Lucas did not yet have a big enough name in the film industry to gain access to that kind of money. Yielding to these insurmountable obstacles, Lucas spent his time working on other projects (aka American Graffiti and the Star Wars Trilogy), and put Willow on the back burner.
Cut to the mid-eighties. With the Star Wars and Indiana Jones movies under his belt, Lucas had both single-handedly advanced the special effects industry light-years and established himself as one of the biggest names in Hollywood. So, he turned his attention back to Willow.

One of Lucas' first moves was to call in his old friend Ron Howard to direct. Howard had acted in Lucas' American Graffiti and since then had established himself as a successful director, helming such films as Splash and Cocoon. Lucas also brought in Bob Dolman (screenwriter for WKRP in Cincinnati) to pen the script, and set his own special effects company (Industrial Light and Magic) to work on preproduction.

A slew of talented actors were cast in the film. Warwick Davis (Wicket the Ewok from Return of the Jedi) was selected for the title role. Val Kilmer (seen right, talking with director Howard on the set) was cast as Willow's renegade ally Madmartigan, and Joanne Whalley as Madmartigan's adversary-turned-lover Sorsha. (Their on-screen romance quickly flared up off-camera, and the couple was married soon after production.) Jean Marsh, who had just finished up playing the evil sorceress in Lucas' Return to Oz, was cast as the evil sorceress-queen Bavmorda, and comedians Rick Overton and Kevin Pollack were cast as Willow's brownie sidekicks, Franjean and Rool. Patricia Hayes, Pat Roach, Gavan O'Herlihy, and veteran dwarf actor Billy Barty rounded out the cast.
Columbia Pictures spent $40 million on Willow, which at the time was quite a bit of money. The amount of publicity at the film's opening stood as testimony to the studio's expectations: trailers were broadcast around the clock, and soon the American public was knee-deep in everything from Willow trading cards to Willow baseball caps. (See the merchandise page for more information.)
Even without the promotional extravaganza, Willow had all the makings of another blockbuster for George Lucas: a creative story, breathtaking special effects, solid acting . . . the list goes on and on. And yet, somehow, the movie flopped. It was met by mediocre reviews by critics, which may have been the prime reason audiences stayed away from Willow. Whatever the reason, the film was a financial disaster, grossing only $57 million.

George Lucas once said he was afraid the Willow saga was too big for one movie. Well, the economic failure of Willow collapsed any notions of expanding the story into more movies, and by all rights the saga should have ended there. Thankfully, Lucas refused to let Willow die that easily. In August, 1995, Bantam/Doubleday released Shadow Moon. The novel, written by Lucas and Chris Claremont (of X-Men fame), presented the continuing adventures of Willow Ufgood, albeit in a different format. And, unlike the Willow movie, Shadow Moon was a financial success.

The latest addition to the ever-unfolding "Story Behind the Saga" occurred last January, with the publication of Shadow Dawn. This first sequel to Shadow Moon was penned entirely by Claremont (thought Lucas gets credit for the story), and will not be the last; Shadow Star, the final volume of the trilogy, is coming soon.

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The origins of the Willow movie (and its offspring, the Shadow Moon fantasy series) can be traced back to the early 70's. According to George Lucas, this was about the time when he came up with the story for Willow. Unfortunately, Lucas' vision for the film included visual effects that would not be developed for at least another decade. Even if the technology did exist, it would undoubtedly be very expensive, and Lucas did not yet have a big enough name in the film industry to gain access to that kind of money. Yielding to these insurmountable obstacles, Lucas spent his time working on other projects (aka American Graffiti and the Star Wars Trilogy), and put Willow on the back burner. Cut to the mid-eighties. With the Star Wars and Indiana Jones movies under his belt, Lucas had both single-handedly advanced the special effects industry light-years and established himself as one of the biggest names in Hollywood. So, he turned his attention back to Willow.
	One of Lucas' first moves was to call in his old friend Ron Howard to direct. Howard had acted in Lucas' American Graffiti and since then had established himself as a successful director, helming such films as Splash and Cocoon. Lucas also brought in Bob Dolman (screenwriter for WKRP in Cincinnati) to pen the script, and set his own special effects company (Industrial Light and Magic) to work on preproduction.
A slew of talented actors were cast in the film. Warwick Davis (Wicket the Ewok from Return of the Jedi) was selected for the title role. Val Kilmer (seen right, talking with director Howard on the set) was cast as Willow's renegade ally Madmartigan, and Joanne Whalley as Madmartigan's adversary-turned-lover Sorsha. (Their on-screen romance quickly flared up off-camera, and the couple was married soon after production.) Jean Marsh, who had just finished up playing the evil sorceress in Lucas' Return to Oz, was cast as the evil sorceress-queen Bavmorda, and comedians Rick Overton and Kevin Pollack were cast as Willow's brownie sidekicks, Franjean and Rool. Patricia Hayes, Pat Roach, Gavan O'Herlihy, and veteran dwarf actor Billy Barty rounded out the cast. Columbia Pictures spent $40 million on Willow, which at the time was quite a bit of money. The amount of publicity at the film's opening stood as testimony to the studio's expectations: trailers were broadcast around the clock, and soon the American public was knee-deep in everything from Willow trading cards to Willow baseball caps. (See the merchandise page for more information.) Even without the promotional extravaganza, Willow had all the makings of another blockbuster for George Lucas: a creative story, breathtaking special effects, solid acting . . . the list goes on and on. And yet, somehow, the movie flopped. It was met by mediocre reviews by critics, which may have been the prime reason audiences stayed away from Willow. Whatever the reason, the film was a financial disaster, grossing only $57 million.
	George Lucas once said he was afraid the Willow saga was too big for one movie. Well, the economic failure of Willow collapsed any notions of expanding the story into more movies, and by all rights the saga should have ended there. Thankfully, Lucas refused to let Willow die that easily. In August, 1995, Bantam/Doubleday released Shadow Moon. The novel, written by Lucas and Chris Claremont (of X-Men fame), presented the continuing adventures of Willow Ufgood, albeit in a different format. And, unlike the Willow movie, Shadow Moon was a financial success.
The latest addition to the ever-unfolding "Story Behind the Saga" occurred last January, with the publication of Shadow Dawn. This first sequel to Shadow Moon was penned entirely by Claremont (thought Lucas gets credit for the story), and will not be the last; Shadow Star, the final volume of the trilogy, is coming soon.