‘Willow’ Star Warwick Davis Calls Out Disney for Pulling Show Off Disney+, Tells Studio to Answer Fans Asking Where to Stream It: ‘Embarrassing’
Warwick Davis is the face of the “Willow” franchise, which kicked off in 1988 with Ron Howard’s fantasy film and continued with the short-lived Disney+ sequel series in 2022. Disney canceled the television series after only one eight-episode season, and then it pulled the show off of Disney+ entirely for cost-cutting measures. Davis is now calling out Disney on X (formerly Twitter), asking the studio in a recent post to answer the many fans wondering why they can no longer watch the show via streaming.
“I meet lovely people on a daily basis who are fans of ‘Willow,’ who are the reason the Disney+ series was made,” Davis posted. “Please tell me [Walt Disney Company], what do I say to these subscribers when they ask why they can’t watch the series any more? #embarrassing.”
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“Willow” was one of nearly 50 titles that Disney+ pulled from its streaming library in May. Other titles included the series “The Mysterious Benedict Society” and the feature film “The One and Only Ivan.” Disney CFO Christine McCarthy explained that Disney was expecting to take a write-down in the June quarter of $1.5 billion-$1.8 billion by removing content from its streaming platforms. By writing down the value of the content assets, Disney can remove that from its balance sheet and reduce its tax bill.
Davis reprised the title role of Willow Ufgood in the Disney+ series, which was developed by Jonathan Kasdan. The series debuted in November 2022 on Disney+ and aired through January 2023. Along with Davis, the cast of the show included Ruby Cruz, Erin Kellyman, Ellie Bamber, Tony Revolori, Amar Chadha-Patel, Dempsey Bryk and Joanne Whalley.
The “Willow” series received mostly positive reviews from critics, with the first (and only) season holding an 83% critical approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. In his review for Variety, Joshua Alston wrote that the show’s “perfect balance of reverence and irreverence is what immediately catapults ‘Willow’ to the upper echelon of Disney+ series.”
I meet lovely people on a daily basis who are fans of #Willow, who are the reason the @DisneyPlus Series was made. Please tell me @WaltDisneyCo, what do I say to these subscribers when they ask why they can’t watch the series any more? #embarrassing pic.twitter.com/tUu9gstkbS
— Warwick Davis (@WarwickADavis) October 14, 2023
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