Wales has long been considered a place of myth and magic – its national emblem is the dragon, after all, and it has strong links with the legend of King Arthur. So, it’s only fitting that Lucasfilm chose it as the location for the Disney+ fantasy series “Willow.” Production was based at Dragon Studios in Bridgend, South Wales, and filmed at 32 locations across the country.
The Celtic nation has provided the site for many famous movie scenes over the decades, including the Bat Cave in “The Dark Knight Rises,” the Slaughtered Lamb pub in “American Werewolf in London,” and the castle in the opening scene of “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.”
Wells also hosted part of the shoot for Ron Howard’s original 1988 film Willow, based on the George Lucas story, and starring Val Kilmer, Joanne Whaley and Warwick Davis. The latter two actors will reprise their roles as Sorcha and the magician Willow, respectively, in the new series, which also stars Ellie Bamber, Ruby Cruz, Erin Keleman, Tony Revolori, and Amar Chadha Patel.
In the past decade or so, Wells has carved out an important niche for itself as a location and production base for outstanding TV series, including “Da Vinci’s Demons”, “Doctor Who”, “Sherlock”, “Sex Education” and “His Dark Material”. Since 2020, production spending in Wales has totaled £139m ($167m), according to government agency Creative Wales.
“Willow” could have been filmed in any number of international locations, with New Zealand, the Czech Republic, and Hungary being just a few options, but Wells ticked the boxes for the show’s executives and creators for a number of reasons.
“Willow” executive producer Rupesh Parekh, who previously worked on “Da Vinci’s Demons” and “His Dark Materials,” says he and showrunner Jonathan Kasdan asked himself, “Where is the best place for us to evoke some nostalgia from work? The original? A movie? What will go towards the magic of the world we’re trying to create?”
Adds Lucasfilm Executive Vice President Lenwyn Brennan: “It always starts with the creative requirements, and so for this series in particular, we needed a place that infused a sense of magic and an otherworldly feel. Of course, coming from Wales, I knew exactly where you were going to get these.” Feelings, because I think Wales has always had this sense of being this old place, a magical place. There’s no place like it.”
The UK has become a major production hub for Lucasfilm – it’s mainly based in Pinewood, near London – boosting Wales’ ability to attract projects from the Disney-owned company. “We have two Lucasfilm production centers: one in the UK and one in LA on Manhattan Beach,” Brennan says. [‘Star Wars’] The seventh, eighth and ninth rings are in pine. We have recently expanded to include Dragon Studios in Wales but also Shinfield Studios near Reading [in England]. We are shooting a series [‘The Acolyte’] There at the moment, which also does some site work in Wales. We had already set up a HQ in Pinewood, but then as we expanded into broadcast television, we needed a lot more space. So, we took to the stage in other studios around the UK.”
Lucasfilm has a wealth of projects underway in both Los Angeles and the UK. We’ve begun production on ‘The Acolyte’. [in the U.K.]Leslie Headland’s show is very sexy. And they’ve done some site work back in Wales, so that’s good work too. And yes, we have many products. We’re finishing season 3 of The Mandalorian, and we’re also working on Skeleton Crew [both in L.A.]And we’re about to start Season 2 of “Andor.” [in the U.K.], Also. So, there is no shortage of work going on.”
Parekh says that after researching locations, they realized that within a couple of hours of Dragon Studios, “we could find great locations that would really serve the story, and would work on the epic scale that we wanted,” he says. “The show had to stand on its own two feet against shows like ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Indiana Jones.’ These are properties that Lucasfilm is known for, and we wanted to make sure we made something equally compelling, that had heart and humor for its storytelling, But he also had that epic.”
They also needed “amazing, beautiful locations” that were unfamiliar to viewers and were “a bit of a blank canvas”. “With Willow being a traveling quest show, we never go back to where we were,” Parekh says. “So, we needed a large number of locations that we could build in each episode, and we figured Wells would give us that. So, it started with what was going to work for the story creatively, and then all the benefits of production came.”
Disney+ series “Willow” starring Warwick Davis, who was also in the original movie.
Among the sites used was Morlais Quarry, where the exhibition is opening. “We wanted something that feels like the edge of our world. You want your opening shots for your series to be special, and we felt that gave us production value and that scale,” Parekh says. Merthyr Mawr was the setting for Willow’s house, the village of Nelwyn. “We wanted to evoke this feeling that this world is not entirely part of ours, and it has a kind of surreal quality to it,” he says.
Neath Abbey was another star spot. “We have a beautiful action sequence that we shot in the ruins of Neath Abbey. We have these VFX creatures flying all over the place and attacking Questers. Neath has this magnetic sense. There is something historical and ancient about it,” Parekh says. Another notable location is Cwm Cadlan Forest. , where Camp Bone Reavers is filmed.
The exhibition also traveled to North Wales. “We just needed the most amazing scenery, especially for travel, when we all had our questers going to different parts, and that’s when we went to Snowdonia, and all the way up to Holyhead, because we wanted to give that sense of passing and traveling,” Parekh says.
Brennan stresses the point that the variety of landscapes available in Wales was key to the decision to shoot there, since the essence of the series is the journey. “It’s a journey of discovery for the characters, but it’s also a physical journey through so many different landscapes and landscapes. So having a place where we can get the studio footprint we really need and also get that mix of landscapes within a few hours’ drive of that studio was A must. We shot in 32 locations in Wales – from beaches, lakes, mountains, forests, quarries, castles. I can’t think of many places where you can get that combination of so many locations, great studio space, and then talent. You know, we were able to take advantage of The local talent is there, and also developing some talent there as well. So many roads pointed to Wales for that one.”
Another key factor that made Lucasfilm commit to Wales was the support of Creative Wales, whose funding helped land 25 interns for at least six months. “We wanted to make sure we left a legacy behind, and to make sure we were contributing to the filmmaking community as well as to society at large,” Parekh says.
“It meant that people who traditionally don’t get the chance to work not just in film and television, but on a very large-scale TV show, fictional show – where many specialized and unique skills are applied, and craft technical skills are required – have a window into how to create Magic “.
Lucasfilm managed to find the majority of the “Willow” crew within Wales, then supplemented that with below-the-line talent from the rest of the UK. Of the 335 full-time crew members, 206 were Welsh. The production had 29 sections, 17 of which had a native of Wales heading them or in a senior role. “It was a great mix. We were able to get a lot of the talent that was already out there, and then bring in some people that we’ve worked with on our other productions,” says Brennan.
Parekh adds that there has been a relentless effort to recruit local staff for senior positions. “The only thing we tried to encourage was that if we brought in a head of department from outside Wales, the oldest person in their team would have to be from Wales. Then there was a ripple effect from that, because then they knew who to talk to, who the rising stars were, and how to attract talent. So, we needed to make sure that we would pair any non-Welsh crew with the Welsh crew.”
The show’s twenty-five trainees added to the pool of talent that other productions could tap. “It was important to us to make sure we had a positive impact on the crew that other productions after us, including us, could benefit from. And a really strong cast. The production values on the series are incredible across the board. It’s been great for us to benefit from.” This amazing new group of talent in Wales,” says Brennan.
The fact that Lucasfilm has a large focus of production activity in the UK helps the crew it employs there, Brennan says. “We create such long-term relationships and relationships with these crews, so many of our crew will move from project to project, and the more consistent we are with working on this site, the more we can hold on to this great talent and not lose them. We can be a consistent home for them.”
“Willow” stars Ellie Bamber, Robbie Cruz, Erin Keleman, Tony Revolori and Amar Chadha Patel.
“We don’t just develop a stenograph with them; we build on everything we’ve learned in every film or series we work on. And most importantly, for every one of our productions, ‘Willow’ was no different in Wales, we really played an active role in bringing in apprentices. And interns, so that in each of our departments we build production. Every department takes in some interns, so we’re building that next generation as we grow. That’s been a good strategy for us.”
Dragon Studios proved to be an “extraordinary” production base, with four stages, and even when that proved insufficient, a fifth stage—a total of 28,000 square feet—was added, Parekh says. “I think that speaks to the power and ingenuity of the talent out there. You know, it’s like: There’s a problem; how do we solve it? It just speaks to the passion of the filmmaking community.” [in Wales]There’s also a six-acre backyard in the studios, on which they built Tir Asleen Castle, and a “wonderful, mystical land” called the Old Town, which evokes “Blade Runner 2049.”
Lucasfilm had an additional 20 buildings around the studio, dedicated to creature creation, puppetry work, special effects creation, costumes, and so on. During a pandemic, plenty of space and plenty of ventilation was important to ensuring a safe environment for the crew.
Lucasfilm also did a lot of post-production work on location. “With series production, a lot of post-production happens at the same time that we’re shooting, so it was helpful for us to have that capability there, to be more inclusive in the way they were working through the plan,” says Brennan. And then we did some postings in the States as well. But to be able to make sure we were moving through the production pipeline while we were still shooting, I don’t think we could have done it any other way. Lucasfilm, via ILM, has a studio Ours is in the UK too, so they took the lead in doing the visual effects, which was great.”
Disney hasn’t yet announced if “Willow” will move into a second season, but Parekh says they’re ready if the call comes. “I’d like to think we’ve come to a very satisfactory conclusion to the former [season]But there’s definitely enough seeds planted that if Lucasfilm and Disney and Jon Kasdan want to come back again, there’s a lot of room available.” this stage.”
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