Lucasfilm doing a Willow Disney+ series COMING 2022

[Disco Stu 15,495]

27 minutes ago, Edmilson said:

Me neither. I only care about JNH's music

 

You'll appreciate his choices more if you watch.

[rough cut 1,714]

 

58 minutes ago, Edmilson said:

Me neither. I only care about JNH's music

Yeah cool.

[Richard Penna 3,686]

I'd probably give it a go if I had D+ but I don't.

 

Definitely will be listening to JNH's score though.

[JNHFan2000 2,959]

I really enjoyed the first 2 episodes.

 

It feels very much like Willow. And I like the premise. It's maybe a tad like other fantasy series but the whole world of Willow is just so cool to be in. And the character relationships are interesting I feel.

 

The thing I really liked up to this point is seeing things and characters from the film. Great to see Sorsha again, Tir Asleen in nature and thriving.

(Madmartigan is spoken about quite a bit but not seen. Interesting to see what they do with him).

 

The younger cast are all good and have a great chemistry. The character Boorman is my favourite up till now. He's funny and quite the scene stealer.

The coolest thing was the group of villains. There are 4 of them, and all 4 have a unique look that I really enjoyed.

The producution is also very strong. Just like Andor it all feels much more real than things shot in the volume. The VFX also are incredible.

 

To see Warwick Davis in this role again is also such a joy. He's great.

 

James Newton Howard's score is very good. It's very much like his Maleficent score mixed with a bit of Jungle Cruise.

I picked up at least 3 themes.

A sort of emotional theme, a heroic theme and a villain theme.

There were a few statements of Horner's themes (he is also nicely credited in the credits after Howard). And they were very smoothly incorporated into the rest of the score. If you don't know the themes, you wouldn't think they were 30 years old. I actually got goosebumps each time they appeared.

 

I do not get the songs over the end credits of the episodes. It doesn't fit at all and it's really jarring with the rest of the show. The design of the credits is really cool and then not to have music by Howard over that is very jarring.

 

Spoiler

The thing I did not expect was that they revealed who Elora Danan is in the first episode. And it wasn't who I thought it would be based on the trailers.

 

[mstrox 6,651]

Watched the first episode this morning, and thought it was real good!  The new characters are well defined and bounce off each other well.
 

I was very pleased with the balance between “this is like that old movie” and the new, which should definitely be the driving force.  Obviously they can still tip that balance the wrong way, since we know there are more returning faces later - but for now I’m liking it.  
 

Score seemed okay.  Horner quotes for the most part were tasteful.  Pop music end credits was a little jarring, but I do like the fact that it signals a bit of irreverence to a movie that, while fun, didn’t really require much reverence in the first place. 

[Knight of Ren 789]

I watched the two episodes and they were nice! It has potential to be a fun show, and so far I think they did a great job with the new characters. The story isn't the most original, but I hope they at least manage to properly develop the new characters while paying homage to the classic one, which seems they are already doing!

 

I don't like the rock songs in the end credits as it doesn't really fit within the rest of the score, which so far is quite great! I noticed three different Horner themes from the original score, and all three of them appear right away in the prologue. The Danger motif is there, Elora Danan's theme as well, and also the heroes theme (which is commonly know as Willow's theme, but in fact in the original movie is more of a heroic theme for the good guys overall)

 

These last two themes have some nice variations in the two episodes, and it's cool to hear Howard incorporate this ideas into his own style, which is very much present every moment. His action cues sounded great, but I also loved the travelling cues, which incorporate what I think will be his new main theme. I also love the choral ideas that appear in episode 2

Spoiler

when Willow is looking for Elora through the woods, and then she convinces him to join the search party

 

Is there any word on when the official release will happen? Or how many albums they will release? I cannot wait to listen to the score on its own.

[Jaaaackified 81]

The end credits song is "Guess Who's Back", I think it is quite self-explanatory why the choice has been made. 

[JNHFan2000 2,959]

21 minutes ago, Knight of Ren said:

Is there any word on when the official release will happen? Or how many albums they will release? I cannot wait to listen to the score on its own.

No nothing yet, but I'm hoping 2 volumes with the first releasing after ep. 4 in 2 weeks.

 

I'm just hoping they don't put the songs on the album(s) and take space where score could be. That would be awful

[mstrox 6,651]

There are no space considerations on digital releases

[Disco Stu 15,495]

I didn’t like the first episode much at all.  We’ve gone from the fairy tale feeling of the original to middling-at-best YA fiction.  I didn’t expect any better from the writer of Solo.  The score didn’t impress me either.

[DangerMotif 1,037]

Music is good just mixed poorly and I enjoy the show. Those songs just don’t fit at all

[WampaRat 1,105]

Just finished the two episodes as well.  Fun enough diversion. Not perfect. But breezy fantasy that isn’t trying to reinvent any tropes.
 

Looking forward to hearing the score on its own. Decent smattering of Horner material throughout so far. Paired with some trademark JNH Fantasy. Heard bits that sounded like Snow White and the Huntsman and Malefecent in particular. I dig the practical effects on the antagonists and some of the villain costumes really feel like they’re straight out of the original (The bone reivers feel very “80s Fantasy”) The whole thing looks great. Hardly a whiff of any “volume shooting”. 
 

Im a little leery of soo many main younger characters. It runs the risk of becoming a fantasy CW show (too much angst(?) I dunno). One in particular I feel should have been about 10 years older and would have added some nice variety. But no one is annoying me yet. 

 

[publicist 4,643]

Peeked in yesternight. A corporate abomination, as expected, but when Warwick Davis properly enters in episode 2, there's a light comic spirit that lifts it. He probably had a hand in his own dialogue/scenes and they just should have made a small-scale series about a bumbling sorcerer's apprentice (Disney+ refers to him as 'dwarf builder'!) . All the rest is dreadful LOTR leftovers. The score has not many moments to shine, but when it does, it's fair-to-good JNH (Maleficent meets Jungle Cruise, perhaps).

[Manakin Skywalker 4,892]

I've only seen the first episode so far. That was... weird? There were good elements, there were bad elements. JNH's score is really good so far, definitely a lot better than some of his more recent stuff. Horner callbacks were nice!

 

It has that weird TLJ/Solo vibe where everything is a comedic moment, no matter how serious. Everyone is sarcastic 100% of the time which gets irritating really fast, and the dialogue is perhaps a bit too modern-sounding. Pacing I think it way too fast (clearly in order to have Willow appear in the first episode) and not much, if any, backstory for the main characters.

 

And the strangest decision was the end credits. Rock? Really? 

[WampaRat 1,105]

Yeah. The songs are definitely jarring.

They don't compliment the score at all. 

I got to be honest, Davis seems…a bit stilted in his delivery. Like he’s reading lines off a cue card in the background. Compared to the looseness he had in the film. He can definitely act. Wonder if it’s jus his interpretation of an older Willow? Perhaps it’s just clashing with the more modern delivery of the younger actors? But Joanne Wiley doesn’t stick out. She’s terrific. Maybe it’s just me. Davis’ daughter, on the other hand, is super endearing. Really terrific. 

 

[LSH 968]

16 minutes ago, WampaRat said:

Like he’s reading lines off a cue card in the background.

 

To be fair, that has actually been the nature of his output for a few years now. 

[WampaRat 1,105]

Oh bummer! I guess I’ve only really seen him in Willow and parts of “Life’s Too Short”. He just seemed more lively in the those. Odd considering he’s wanted to continue this character for such a long time. Perhaps he improves as the series goes on.

[danbeck 123]

The first two episodes were OK, good visuals and fine pacing. Never been a fan of the movie (except for the score), too tame and childish for my liking even at the time of its release when I was 13.

But was dissapointed with the new series music, specially taking into account James Newton Howard is involved. Too generic for me with only some small fragments of Horner's themes standing out (but not is a very good way, a bit jarring) and the terrible songs at the end of each episode. 

After the ending of the second episode Disney+ reverted to the original movie and what a difference(!), choral and orchestral thematic exuberance that is nowhere to be seen in the series so far. 

I'll wait furter episodes and the soundtrack album for a better appraisal. 

[rough cut 1,714]

I think I would’ve liked this show a lot more if they’d made it in a kind of Riverdale environment. They all act like spoiled high schoolers, and the Willow setting feels so out of place with the script and they way characters act. Just have them being kids in a school where one of them is kidnapped and dragged into a fantasy world.

 

That could’ve been cool.

 

This is bad.

[JNHFan2000 2,959]

I liked the 3rd episode, although episodes 1 & 2 were better.

Not a lot happened this episode apart from the final 15 minutes, which got me I have to say.

 

I'm a big fan of Ted Lasso and thought it was great to see Hannah Waddingham in a small scene. (The outfits she wore did not make a lot lf sense, but her scene was great).

 

Boorman & Jade are my favourite characters. Kit is fine, but she's just complaining all the time.

 

There were some really great moments in the music. This episode sounded most like his 2 Huntsman scores.

I'm still really annoyed about the modern music at the end. It's soooo jarring, especially when you've had such an emotional scene 2 minutes before it. I don't get why no one is post thought "maybe this isn't such a good idea?"

 

It actually makes me end the episode with a negative thought, even though I really like the show. And that's not a good thing

[Disco Stu 15,495]

This show is so bad.  The writing really couldn’t be worse.

[Thor 7,495]

5 hours ago, Disco Stu said:

This show is so bad.  The writing really couldn’t be worse.

 

Indeed. This is one of the shittiest things I've seen in a while, and there's really no excuse for it in the socalled Golden Age of Television. Extremely flat digital look, clean-cut costumes, poor script, embarassing performances, non-descript score (probably the biggest disappointment) and -- worst of all -- forced representation right up the Wazoo.

 

To be fair, the original 1988 film was no masterpiece either. It has its flaws. But at least it scored high on visual effects, production design, cinematography and (especially) music. It FELT like a proper fantasy universe. This series feels like a poorly conceived, filmed school play.

 

I forced myself to watching the first episode until Warwick Davies appeared, at least, but even that was a letdown (he was never a great actor, but I had at the very least hoped for some charisma to shine through). I will not be watching any more episodes of this crap, sorry.

[publicist 4,643]

23 minutes ago, Thor said:

Indeed. This is one of the shittiest things I've seen in a while, and there's really no excuse for it in the socalled Golden Age of Television.

 

Note to Thor: the Golden Age of Television has long ended. It was in its final throes in 2015-2016, and then the formulas took over. By 2020, it was a miracle when something truly remarkable came along, say 'Chernobyl'. 

[Thor 7,495]

Could be, although I've seen a few great things since that time.

[WampaRat 1,105]

Yes. The colloquial modern day/riffy dialogue is starting to grate. I don’t mind humor. The original Willow had tons of it. But I do mind “filler humor”. 
 

Did anyone who watched episode 3 think the  fight at the end was too visually dark? Is this the same guy who lensed “Solo”? My wife was the first to call it out. We could barely see what was happening. 
 

As for the music, I’m really eager to give it a fair shake on album. I’m hearing a lot that I like. And some that I’ll leave off my playlist. Wonder if we’ll get a proper “danger motif” in the coming episode? (It may have already popped up in the prologue to the first episode. I can’t recall.)

[Disco Stu 15,495]

It's not just the terrible humor writing, the plotting of episode 3 was bordering on nonsensical, certainly clumsy would be the kindest word to describe it (which reminds me of Solo tbh).

 

And it saddens me to say that Warwick Davis delivers his dialogue like he's still hosting Tenable, his ITV quiz show.

[mstrox 6,651]

Haven’t seen 3 yet, but agree that Davis seems like the weakest link, as far as acting goes.

[LSH 968]

18 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:

And it saddens me to say that Warwick Davis delivers his dialogue like he's still hosting Tenable, his ITV quiz show.

 

Haha, yes, this is what I was referring to; almost an 'auto-cue' style of delivery.

 

I've watched the first two episodes and I think I've seen enough. Still, I'm very keen to hear the music by itself if/when it's released.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Just now, LSH said:

I've watched the first two episodes and I think I've seen enough. Still, I'm very keen to hear the music by itself if/when it's released.

 

Oh boy, that means you haven't heard the musical monstrosity that ends episode 3.  Something that Kasdan revealed on social media that he wrote into the script, like it was something to be proud of!

[LSH 968]

1 minute ago, Disco Stu said:

 

Oh boy, that means you haven't heard the musical monstrosity that ends episode 3.  Something that Kasdan revealed on social media that he wrote into the script, like it was something to be proud of!

 

Crikey, I almost want to hear it now.

[publicist 4,643]

8 hours ago, Thor said:

Could be, although I've seen a few great things since that time.

 

Yeah, but better not starting to weigh it against all the formulaic filth that makes up 90% of the rest.

[Positivatee 327]

I wanted to turn it off when Dove puked on Willow in Ep 2.

 

But then again, that is Elora Danan's superpower. Just ask Burglecutt. 

[WampaRat 1,105]

3 hours ago, mstrox said:

Haven’t seen 3 yet, but agree that Davis seems like the weakest link, as far as acting goes.

This is so perplexing to me. Why is he so stilted? He’s so much more natural in the original and in other stuff. So odd.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

31 minutes ago, WampaRat said:

This is so perplexing to me. Why is he so stilted? He’s so much more natural in the original and in other stuff. So odd.

 

Over the last decade or so he pivoted his career to being more of a presenter, starting with hosting panels at conventions before getting his own quiz show that he's taped hundreds of episodes of.  I think maybe spending so much time in that presenter mode might have ruined the unstudied natural-ness of his acting.

[Positivatee 327]

I wonder if maybe Warwick Davis' career growth was stunted somehow. 

[Mephariel 451]

On 07/12/2022 at 11:27 PM, publicist said:

 

Note to Thor: the Golden Age of Television has long ended. It was in its final throes in 2015-2016, and then the formulas took over. By 2020, it was a miracle when something truly remarkable came along, say 'Chernobyl'. 

 

Not true at all. Severance, Squid Game, The Boys, are all incredible, original shows and Succession is also high level creation. 

[publicist 4,643]

4 hours ago, Mephariel said:

 

Not true at all. Severance, Squid Game, The Boys, are all incredible, original shows and Succession is also high level creation. 

 

Squid Games? The Boys? Are you kidding me? The Golden Age referred to a time when there was a high percentage of grown-up tv made by grown-up intelligent people who conceived stuff like Deadwood, The Wire, Breaking Bad, Mad Men etc. And there was not a lot of junk on these channels. Now there is a lot of junk and occasionally something good like Midnight Mass, Bosch or some sci-fi series on Prime (not The Boys), but it's amidst a sea of dross. And i tried a lot over the years and it's depressing.

[Mr. Who 919]

Severance is amazing!

[publicist 4,643]

It's called 'anecdotal evidence'. I also like Succession, but a swallow does not make a summer.

[Suro-Zet 7]

5 hours ago, Mephariel said:

 

Not true at all. Severance, Squid Game, The Boys, are all incredible, original shows and Succession is also high level creation. 

 

Yes, plus "Dark" and also "1899" from same creators.

[enderdrag64 624]

13 hours ago, Mephariel said:

 

Not true at all. Severance, Squid Game, The Boys, are all incredible, original shows and Succession is also high level creation. 

Don't forget Arcane

[rough cut 1,714]

I watched the first two episodes when they came out, and I’ve no real urge to watch a third one.

[Mephariel 451]

17 hours ago, publicist said:

 

Squid Games? The Boys? Are you kidding me? The Golden Age referred to a time when there was a high percentage of grown-up tv made by grown-up intelligent people who conceived stuff like Deadwood, The Wire, Breaking Bad, Mad Men etc. And there was not a lot of junk on these channels. Now there is a lot of junk and occasionally something good like Midnight Mass, Bosch or some sci-fi series on Prime (not The Boys), but it's amidst a sea of dross. And i tried a lot over the years and it's depressing.

 

I am not sure what your point is. There is a lot more shows now because of the number of streaming services. But high level TV Shows are still out there. 

[publicist 4,643]

5 minutes ago, Mephariel said:

I am not sure what your point is. There is a lot more shows now because of the number of streaming services. But high level TV Shows are still out there. 

 

That is exactly the problem. The Golden Age of TV was a rare period when there wasn't a huge explosion of 'content', but a comparably tiny number of 'special' shows with often original topics which had time to develop, spread their wings, develop a fanbase. It was just not like old tv anymore (save Twin Peaks) and now, the dust has started to settle after everyone joined the wagon, looking for the biggest market share, and the landscape it’s revealed is dispiritingly familiar. More Marvel, LOTR and GoF, as well as canceling less broad mainstream appeal shows that would have had considerably more time in 2012. 

 

So of course there are good shows, but often enough they escape and are not nurtured the way HBO did that, or early Netflix. I see enough shows for at least one episode and it's easy to tell which ones have potential. And these are quite rare.

[JNHFan2000 2,959]

I really liked the first 3 episodes, but I didn't really like episode 4.

For the first time I got a bit annoyed by the modern dialogue, like many already mentioned.

 

And the whole episode was 'the haunted castle mind tricks' things we've seen so much, that I wasn't really intetested and not enough happened to move the story forward.

 

This was the first episode whete Rodzinski was credited as main composer, and to be honest I only noticed 1 or 2 short moments of music. The rest was a bit nondescript.

And again, and pardon my french, but why!?!?!?! the fucking songs at the end. It's so so so annoying and grating. I hate it and I feel every week it's one of the biggest mistakes that have to do with filmmusic in the last few years. It's absolutely horrible.

 

I'm really bummed because I enjoyed the show so far and could look through it's problems but I really hope it gets better next week. Shame.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Why the songs?  Because Jon Kasdan clearly has neither talent nor taste.

[mstrox 6,651]

It’s clear that the target audience for this show is, in part, the tween set, and I’m sure this is an accommodation for them.  I think it’s crass, but I also don’t mind so much because the original Willow was only an okay movie.  It doesn’t feel like anything is being ruined for me here.

 

I’m still enjoying it well enough after four episodes.  The JNH score is basically just wallpaper.  This episode had a moment where I heard what is clearly a new heroic theme, but it didn’t seem particularly interesting.  The only time the score grabs me at all are the little hints at Horner‘s original score (which were all over this week, given the setting and content of the episode).

 

I never understood people’s complaints about the brightness in Solo, but there were some moments in the third episode that, visually, were quite difficult to see.

[JNHFan2000 2,959]

Episode 5 was even worse than 4. Didn't think Inwould say it but the National Treasure series is actually better at this point.

 

The whole episode was boring and the dialogue was cringy and the whole truth plum things was laughable.

The final few moment promised something exciting for next week but it's a shame because I really liked the first 2 episodes, but they got worse and worse every episode.

 

And the music again!! What the fuck. This is a fantasy show and right now with all the modern songs (also in the episode) make it seem like a spoof. It's ridiculous!

[Mr. Who 919]

 

21 minutes ago, JNHFan2000 said:

Episode 5 was even worse than 4. Didn't think Inwould say it but the National Treasure series is actually better at this point.

 

The whole episode was boring and the dialogue was cringy and the whole truth plum things was laughable.

The final few moment promised something exciting for next week but it's a shame because I really liked the first 2 episodes, but they got worse and worse every episode.

 

And the music again!! What the fuck. This is a fantasy show and right now with all the modern songs (also in the episode) make it seem lile a spoof. It's ridiculous!

How is the score?

[JNHFan2000 2,959]

7 hours ago, Mr. Who said:

 

How is the score?

There wasn't a lot there that I remember but, there was some tribal sort of stuff for the Bone Reavers and a few blasts of action materials. But the rest was mostly strings and woodwinds.

 

The best opportunities for great score this episode were unfortunately used for annoying songs.

 

There was no song over the end credits but the theme only kicked in when the main credits ended and the credits scroll began, before that it was very slow.

 

It's a real shame, because this show could have been another Rings of Power of House Of The Dragon score wise. But after 5 episodes it's clear that the showrunners don't really know what they're doing musicwise.

I just hope that we get some killer action scenes in the final 3 episodes with score and not some rock song over it.