Val Kilmer was so great in the role of Madmartigan in director Ron Howard and producer George Lucas’ 1988 fantasy film Willow. He is such a fun character, and I was really hoping to see him in Lucasfilm’s Willow sequel series. He was actually originally supposed to appear in the first season of the series on Disney+ and reprise his role, but it didn’t end up happening.
According to showrunner Jonathan Kasdan, Kilmer had to bow out due to health concerns from his previous battle with throat cancer. Kasdan shared in an interview with Entertainment Weekly:
“We really wanted Val to come be in the show, and Val really wanted to come out and be in the show. I remember going to see Val right after this thing started to get some momentum, and I said, ‘Listen, we’re doing this. And the whole world wants Madmartigan back.’ And he was like, ‘Not as much as I do.'”
Kasdan went on to say that Kilmer gave him a big hug when he left and picked him up, telling Kasdan, “See? I’m still super strong.” So, the creative team got to work and started building out the first season with Madmartigan in the story. This was all happened before COVID hit and that’s what ultimately prevented Kilmer from returning. Kasdan explained:
“As COVID overtook the world, it became insurmountable. We were prepping in the spring of the year that it was most happening. And Val reluctantly didn’t feel he could come out. We had to figure out a way to preserve the story we wanted to tell with him about how his story was playing out.”
While it’s a bummer that Kilmer wasn’t able to appear in the first season of Willow, Kasdan made sure to leave the door open for him to return. Kasdan said:
“We wanted to leave open the door to any possibility in the future and also honor the spirit of him. We’ve tried to do that and work with him in a way so that he is felt and heard, if not seen.”
So, if Willow ends up getting a second season, maybe they will actually be able to get Kilmer back in action as Madmartigan.