While promoting his upcoming blockbusterSolo: A Star Wars Story, director Ron Howard revealed that he wants to return to his earliest collaboration with George Lucas from three decades ago.
“I don’t want to give away too much, but there is a little talk ofWillow,” Howard told comicbook.com inan exclusive interview. “We wouldn’t call itWillow 2, I think it would focus a lot on Elora Danan, although Willow would have to be significantly involved.”
Soloreunited Howard with actor Warwick Davis, who played the title character WillowUfgood. A year ago, Howard responded to a fan’s question on Twitter about a sequel.
Glad you are asking for one! I directed@WarwickADavisfor the 1st time in 30 years today. It made me happyhttps://t.co/yW8E19MPCn
— Ron Howard (@RealRonHoward)August 06, 2025
Willowwas a fantasy epic released in 1988 about a Hobbit-like character played by Davis, fresh off his star turn as Wicket inReturn of the Jedi. He joins forces with the cocky swordfighter Madmartigan (Val Kilmer) to save a child from an evil queen.
Lucas conceived the idea for the filmback in the ‘70s, according to The Hollywood Reporter, but the visual tech didn’t exist at the time to bring his vision to life. When it came out the film was hardly a commercial success, but it’s maintained a devoted cult following among fantasy fans.
In a Reddit AMA, Howard said he looks back at the movie with amixture of fondness and regret. “You know there are things about the movieWillow, as much affection as I have for it and as much affection as fans have for it that, you know, I would love to have a second chance with,” he wrote in response to a question about a sequel.
“And I think today I could make it even more dynamic, I could make it cooler, I could make the funny stuff funnier, but all that said, you knowWillowwas a great experience and I’m really glad it sort of lives in peoples memory,” he added.
Howard also disclosed that the earlier movie may have helped inspire his vision of the interstellar smuggler. “I thought about that movie a lot as I was working onSolobecause there are certain scenes, especially around some of the Madmartigan stuff, was reminiscent of a character with that kind of swagger and bravado. And also some of the humor around some of the action inWillowwas something I inspired to get intoSolo.”
