Willow Timeline Explained: How Long Has Passed Between the Movie and the Show?

While we do know that it has been a very long time since the Willow movie was released, we saw that the sparks of adventure were rekindled during the events of the Willow series, as it is now clear that the storyline will follow new characters that are going to embark on their own perilous journey of self-discovery and heroism. Of course, these are younger characters that carry the legacies of the ones that we saw in the 1988 Willow movie. But how long has passed since the movie and the series?

In the events of the Willow series, only 20 years have passed since the defeat of Queen Bavmorda in the Willow movie. That’s why Elora Danan is still quite young in the series. However, in real time, 34 years have passed since the release of the Willow movie and the release of the series.

Even though more than three decades have passed since the release of the original Willow movie, only two decades have passed in the universe of the Willow series. As such, the time that has passed between the events of the two storylines isn’t as large as the time that has passed in real life. So, with that said, let’s take a good look at what we know about the Willow timeline.

How Long Has Passed Between The Willow Movie And Series In Real Life?

Back in the late 80s, when Lucasfilm was still on a high after the massive success of the original Star Wars trilogy, Willow was created as the story that was supposed to become the next adventure that fans could follow. But while there were a lot of fans of the original Willow movie that was released in 1988, it never got the sequel film that fans were hoping for back then. 

The good news is that a series was released by Disney+ to continue the storyline of Willow, as there were still a lot of fans that wanted Willow and his friends to have a new adventure. Of course, the new Willow series still follows Willow Ufgood but includes a new cast of characters that are set to become the next generation of heroes in this grand storyline. But how long has it been since the Willow movie was released?

In real-world time, 34 years have passed since the release of the Willow movie in 1988 and the release of the Willow series in 2022. That means that the characters of the original Willow movie have aged a lot since the release of the film near the end of the 80s. Of course, both Warwick Davis and Joanne Whalley aren’t that old, considering that they were still quite young back in 1988. That is why they still play big roles in the 2022 Willow series.

Nevertheless, because 34 years have passed in our real-world time, it was important for the series creator to craft a new story that focused more on younger characters instead of the old generation of heroes that we saw in the 1988 Willow film. That is why it now revolves around five other characters that accompany Willow on a journey that could potentially save the entire world from a coming darkness.

How Many Years Has It Been Since The Willow Movie In The Willow Series?

While we do know that more than three decades have passed since the original Willow movie was released in 1988, we know for a fact that the time that has passed in the Willow universe isn’t as long as the time that has passed in the real world. So, how long has it been since the events of the Willow movie?

In the Willow series, we saw that Sorsha and Madmartigan’s children, namely Kit and Airk, are still quite young and are somewhere in their late-teen years as they are still trying to make sense of the world around them and are finding their own places in the grander scheme of things. While it is possible that Sorsha and Madmartigan didn’t have children right away, the character that best explains how long it has been since the events of the original Willow movie is Dove.

Of course, Dove is not Dove’s real name, as she is actually the Elora Danan that we saw in the original Willow movie. For those who may have forgotten, Elora was the baby that Willow was carrying and protecting during the events of the 1988 film, as he was given the task of keeping this baby safe from the forces of darkness led by Queen Bavmorda. And that’s because Elora was the prophesized empress that would save the entire world from the darkness that was to come.

In the opening monologue of the Willow series, Sorsha mentioned that Willow had a vision about the danger that was to come to Elora in the future. That was the reason why she decided to hide Elora and keep her identity a secret from everyone, including herself, as it was important to make sure that she was safe from the coming darkness. 

But it was revealed by Willow himself that Dove was actually Elora. She was purposely kept as a kitchen maid in Tir Asleen by Sorsha so that they could continue watching over her without making anyone suspicious about her true identity as the future empress. And because Dove/Elora was still somewhere in her early 20s during the events of the Willow series, as seen from how young she still is, it is clear that the time that had passed since the events of the Willow movie isn’t quite as long as the time that had passed in the real world.

Meanwhile, according to the IMDB page of the Willow series, 20 years have passed since the defeat of Queen Bavmorda. As such, it makes sense that Elora, who was still just an infant in the 1988 movie, would be around 20 in the events of the series. Of course, 20 years are also enough for Sorsha and Madmartigan to have children that are now in their late teens in the events of the Willow series.

So, while 34 years may have passed between the release of the movie and the release of the series, the 20-year gap between the events of the movie and the series in the universe of Willow is actually a good amount of time for the characters to age without making them too old and for the younger heroes to still be in their younger years. 

And the fact that both Warwick Davis and Joanne Whalley aren’t even that old is a blessing for the Willow series because the creators were able to tell a new story where both of them are still in the middle portions of their adult lives as they are now about to pass the torch on to a new generation of heroes in the Willow series.