By James Hibbs

Published: Tuesday, 24 January 2023 at 12:00 am

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With the first season of Willow now having finished airing on Disney Plus, and a second season potentially on the cards, the series’ writer Jonathan Kasdan has once again affirmed his desire for Val Kilmer to return as Madmartigan, saying he has “a lot of hope” that he will be back in the role.

Kilmer starred in the original 1988 film Willow alongside Warwick Davis, but was unable to film for the new Disney Plus series which continues that film’s story due to restrictions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and his throat cancer diagnosis.

However, speaking exclusively with RadioTimes.com, Kasdan said: “Val is an incredible guy and the thing of Val, and people who’ve known him his whole life have told me this again and again, is Val is almost superhumanly strong, and he is a survivor of all things.

“So I have a lot of hope that Val will find himself in a position to be able to work with us, and I know that he has the appetite and I know he has got the affection for the show and for Warwick especially.

“And I think that the world would love to see those two guys together again, and if I could make that happen, nothing would give me more pleasure.”

Asked whether he had spoken with Kilmer since Willow season 1 had arrived on Disney Plus, Kasdan said: “We texted right when they started to air and he said he’d be watching, and then he was like, ‘I’ll throw you a little social media love’. And he was like, ‘I’m gonna work on some artwork, too, that’ll represent Madmartigan’.

“He’s engaged and he’s always been truly nothing but enthusiasm and positivity and a desire to be a part of this thing.”

While Kilmer didn’t appear as Madmartigan in the show’s first season, he was heavily referenced, including in character conversations and in a final sketch of the show’s central characters.

Lucasfilm/Disney Plus

The character’s voice was also heard in moments throughout the season, with it being provided by Jack Kilmer – Val and Sorsha star Joanne Whalley’s son.

On this, Kasdan told Decider: “Jack has been a great friend to Willow all along, you know. Between Joanne and Val he basically is the child of the Willow franchise.

“We actually recorded with Val and we used his performance as a guide track. Then Jack was given Val’s performance to listen to and then copy what his dad had done in terms of, you know, the performance elements of Val’s thing.”

Kasdan has previously spoken about the fact Kilmer was unable to appear in the show, saying that – despite this – his character is “in the show in a meaningful way and connected to every single one of the characters”.

He also told RadioTimes.com recently that conversations regarding a season 2 renewal for the show are “going good” and that the team are “eager to do it”.