The Real Reason Disney+ Removed Willow Revival (And Warwick Davis Not Having It)

Disney+ offers great releases every year, but unfortunately, as with any streaming service, subscribers are treated to both exciting additions and disappointing cancellations. One of those was Willow, a fantasy series based on the original 1988 film. Warwick Davis, the original Willow Ufgood, returned to star in the show, and it almost immediately became one of the most-watched shows across all American platforms.

Except that just six months after Willow's release, in May 2023, Disney canceled the series. Moreover, the series was completely removed from the Disney+ library, making it virtually impossible to watch in the US. Unfortunately, this action has a purely commercial motive, but for Davis this reason is not convincing at all.

Why Disney+ removed the show

The main reason Willow was not only canceled, but removed from the library altogether, is the system that streaming services follow. Since the show was produced by Lucasfilm, which is owned by Disney itself, the service has to pay residuals to the cast and crew, not counting all the other expenses to attract more unique viewers. And if there are no new unique viewers, the residuals become an unprofitable drain, according to the service's execs.

Yes, these residuals were one of the reasons for the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes: writers and actors felt the residuals payments were unreasonably low, while streaming platforms claimed (and still claim) that they cause huge financial losses. So the system is literally built on the idea that a new show has to be an instant hit. And if it doesn't, it runs the risk of being canceled and removed.

Willow's actor is outraged

The profit motive of greedy media giants does not always sit well with people who put an incredible amount of effort into projects that ultimately cannot even be re-watched or shown to anyone else. Warwick Davis took to Twitter to address Disney directly, trying to figure out what to say to the people who want to see a brilliant show with his participation, but can no longer do so.

'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' Davis wrote.

Alas, there was no response, which is probably not surprising since Disney never publishes the reasons for their decisions. Still, it's incredibly disrespectful to the legendary actor who brought fame to the studio, which in turn brought billions to Disney after its acquisition. Hopefully, Willow will still have a chance to be resurrected.

Source: Twitter.