Disney+‘s pasture not only tells the story of Willow Ufgood (Warwick Davis) and Elora Danan following the events of the 1988 film, but also of Madmartigan (Val Kilmer) and Sorsha (Joanne Whalley). He was a rogue mercenary who could constantly charm his way out of danger and she was a warrior princess who literally had a change of heart. After falling in love with Madmartigan, Sorsha turned against her evil mother, Queen Bavmorda (Jean Marsh), and became a hero herself.
The show pasture takes place about 20 years after the events of the film. Willow is a sorceress, Elora Danan is in hiding, and Madmartigan is lost on a quest. Queen Sorsha rules over Tir Asleen, where her biggest headaches are her teenage twins, Kit (Ruby Cruz) and Airk (Dempsey Bryk). Besides the actors Looking for As if they could be Madmartigan and Sorsha’s children, their characters are exactly the kind of royal children you would expect from this flirtatious villain and stubborn fighter. Airk is a sweet, spoiled prince whose main interest is chasing girls. Kit, on the other hand, is a fierce warrior-in-training who is determined to be more than just a typical princess.
When Decider recently sat down with Willow stars Dempsey Bryk and Ruby Cruz, we joked that their characters are actually how we imagined Madmartigan and Sorsha’s children would be. Bryk had to ask, “Quick, who do you think is more like Madmartigan and who do you think is more like Sorsha?” (We said Airk was more Madmartigan – albeit one who grew up in the lap of luxury – and Kit was more like her fighter of a mother.)
Coincidentally, both Bryk and Cruz were eyeing the performances of Val Kilmer and pasture Co-star Joanne Whalley for inspiration.
“So we definitely watched the movie a million times and tried to capture their energy,” Bryk said. “But I think it was subconscious. As if it begins to live inside you unconsciously.”
“Yeah, I think it was really fun, honestly, sort of constructing Kit’s past and having references from her parents was super helpful,” Cruz said. “[It was] it’s so nice to draw from their performances and study them and study their characters’ personalities. And to find out how that would have affected being raised by these people and what parts of them I would reject or what parts of them I would look up to.
While it’s clear that Kit has worked hard to follow in both parents’ footsteps when it comes to becoming a great swordsman, Cruz said a newer element to Sorsha’s personality had the opposite effect on Kit.
“Sorsha carries her responsibilities quite heavily, I think, in the new season,” Cruz said. “I think that really influenced Kit and how she sees her responsibility and how she doesn’t want to be like that.”
Bryk added that he channeled Kilmer and Whalley the most in certain fight scenes.
“Where a lot of effort went into finding authenticity was in the physicality of action scenes,” he said. “There were certain moments — which I won’t go into specifically so as not to spoil it — where it was about getting pretty close to your parental influences.”
We’ll have to wait and see where exactly those scenes are and if pasture (1988) Fans can pick up the references…