Who Is Sorsha in Willow? Meet Joanne Whalley’s Character

Back in the late 80s, Willow was released as an underrated gem that became an important part of the childhood years of a lot of people. In that regard, we know for a fact that there were still people wishing for Willow to have a continuation story, and that happened when the Willow series was announced by Disney. There were only a few characters that were announced to return to the series, and Sorsha was one of them. So, who is Sorsha in Willow?

Sorsha was one of the main protagonists of the Willow movie and was actually an antagonist at the beginning because she was hunting for Elora. However, because of her relationship with Madmartigan, she betrays her own mother and helps Willow and company defeat Bavmorda.

The fact that Sorsha is going to be returning to the Willow series was good news for a lot of people because of the fact that she was one of the most popular characters in the original movie. In that regard, her return promises that the Willow series will have a lot of elements that make the movie an underrated gem. That said, let’s look at who Sorsha is and what her role in the Willow series will be.

Who Is Sorsha In Willow?

When it comes to fantasy adventure storylines, it is rare that the entire movie or series is focused on one central character. The same concept applies to Willow, which might be named after the titular character of the movie but is actually more of an ensemble cast of great characters that have their own important roles in the story. Willow is still the most important character in this movie, but there are other main characters that have played big parts as well.

One of the characters that were featured quite a lot of times in the 1988 movie was Sorsha, who was the one who was actively looking for Willow and the baby Elora the entire time. That’s because she was the daughter of Queen Bavmorda, who ruled her own realm with an iron fist and was looking to spread her influence throughout the entire world. In that regard, Bavmorda gave the task of looking for Elora, who was prophesized to become the new queen, to Sorsha because she thought that her daughter could step up and deliver.

Sorsha was trained in a lot of martial fields, as she became a master archer and a terrific swordsman. She even became second-in-command over the entire Nockmaar army and was the one who was actively chasing Willow while he was the guardian of Elora. But that was also how Sorsha met Madmartigan, who may have been vocal about how he hated Sorsha at first but was clearly in love with her.

It was when Madmartigan was under the influence of some sort of love dust that he confessed his love for Sorsha while he was still her prisoner. It was also that moment that steadily made Sorsha switch over to the other side, especially considering that she was aware of how cruel her mother was.

Eventually, Sorsha fell for Madmartigan when she realized how daring and heroic he could be. That was when she finally decided to join forces with Willow and his group, as this fulfilled an omen of Sorsha betraying her mother. She rejected the things that Bavmorda had done and decided to put an end to her wickedness once and for all. And that was when she joined forces with Willow and the knights of Galladoorn in their fight against Nockmaar.

After Bavmorda’s defeat, Sorsha married Madmartigan and decided to live out her life with him in her childhood home of Tir Asleen. However, according to later stories about Willow, she disappeared in the Cataclysm, which is a series of mass disappearances of large parts of the world.

What Is Sorsha’s Role In The Willow Series?

Played by Joanne Whalley, Sorsha is set to return to Willow in the upcoming Willow series despite the fact that the later stories that were told after the Willow movie said that she supposedly disappeared. There is a good chance that Disney will retcon the novel of Willow to make way for the return of Sorhsa, although it is possible that the series will explain how she returned from the. Cataclysm.

But the fact of the matter is that, like Warwick Davis, she is one of the original characters that will be returning in this sequel series to the Willow movie. As such, she brings in the nostalgia that older fans are probably expecting from the series. Of course, the Willows series is set to focus more on a new ensemble of main characters, but there is a good chance that Whalley’s Sorsha will still have a pivotal role to play in this series.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Joanne Whalley said:

“What I loved about her, in the beginning, is that she was a combination of contradictions, as we all are, in that she was quite fierce and capable and strong and vulnerable and romantic. We’re whole human beings. Sorsha as an older person is still a combination of those things.”

Of course, we know for a fact that Sorsha is now a lot older than she was in the movie, and that means that she is no longer going to be one of the central characters of the series. Despite being a mother and an older woman, she also admitted that her character will still be a badass but will have responsibilities to focus on.

“Now, she has children of her own and has responsibilities that have fallen to her in the way of inheriting her mother’s title and all that goes with it. She has a sense of social responsibility and leadership and justice, but she’s still a mum who’s a bit corny sometimes. She’s still got a romantic side.”

The likely case is that Sorsha will now take on a bigger leadership role in the upcoming series and will probably hang up her boots and sword instead to make way for the younger adventurers in this fantasy adventure series.