The film Willow is pretty special to the Kilmer family as it was the film where Val Kilmer and wife Joanne Whalley first met in 1988. The couple eventually got married that same year which resulted to Jack Kilmer being born. Since Willow had a special place on Jack Kilmer's heart, he explained why he took it upon himself to step up and lend his voice to his dad's character, Madmartigan.
Due to Val Kilmer's health issues, he was not able to return as Madmartigan in the Disney+ Willow series. The actor appeared on the show through some footage from the original film. Since Val Kilmer couldn't lend his voice to the new series, his son Jack stepped up and lent his voice as Madmartigan for episodes Prisoners of Skellin and Children Of The Wyrm.
On Jack Kilmer's interview with Coming Soon, he said “I talked to the director, Jonathan Kasdan, a lot about it, and he had a lot of questions for us because my parents both met on that movie Willow, Jon was so obsessed with the fact that we were all down to do this TV show. Going in, I did a little voiceover for one of the episodes and helping out my dad’s character, Madmartigan."
He continued “I just got to sit … it was really like I got to go to Warner Brothers and hang out with Jon Kasdan and just talk about the legacy of it. We both were fanning out about the whole movie and just having a laugh, you know? And then he was like, ‘Well, can you help with these lines?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, sure. I’ll take a crack at it.’ And so it became a little Easter egg in there.”
Willow: A Fantasy Series with a Modern Sensibility
Disney+ describes the series as "An epic period fantasy series with a modern sensibility set in an enchanted land of breathtaking beauty, “Willow” features a diverse international cast with Jonathan Kasdan, Ron Howard, Wendy Mericle, Kathleen Kennedy, and Michelle Rejwan serving as executive producers. The story began with an aspiring magician from a Nelwyn village and an infant girl destined to unite the realms, who together helped destroy an evil queen and banish the forces of darkness. "
Val and Jack Kilmer might have sort of appeared on the series but Joanne Whalley is a full time cast member of series as she reprised her role in the original film as Sorsha. Along with Whalley, the cast members include Warwick Davis, Ruby Cruz, Erin Kellyman, Ellie Bamber, Tony Revolori, Amar Chadha-Patel, and Dempsey Bryk.
The show was written by Jonathan Kasdan, John Bickerstaff, and Hannah Friedman. It has four directors, who takes turn in directing each episode, namely Stephen Woolfenden, Debs Paterson, Philippa Lowthorpe, and Jamie Childs.