The Series Premiere of 'Willow' Reveals [SPOILER] Is Actually Elora Danan
Published Dec. 1 2022, 3:34 p.m. ET
Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers for the series premiere of Willow.
After decades worth of anticipation, fans are finally returning to the mythical world of Ron Howard's 1988 film Willow.
From the minds at Lucasfilm and Disney Plus, the sequel series of the same name follows the eponymous dwarf sorcerer years after rescuing infant princess Elora Danan as he leads a group of "misfit heroes on a harrowing rescue mission through a world beyond imagination," per the official synopsis.
Warwick Davis returns to reprise the titular role, while Ruby Cruz, Erin Kellyman, Tony Revolori, Amar Chadha-Patel, Dempsey Bryk, and Ellie Bamber round out the rest of the main cast. Now, since the 1988 film centered around Willow protecting Elora Danan from villainous queen Bavmorda, we can't help but wonder how big of a role the child plays in the sequel series.
With that said, who is Elora Danan in the Willow series? Let's find out.
Who is Elora Danan in the 'Willow' series?
At the end of the Oscar-nominated film, Willow and Elora go their separate ways, and we never learn Elora's fate. Thankfully, the acclaimed series is about to fill us in on everything we've missed because, by the end of Episode 1, we learn that a kitchen maid named Dove (Ellie Bamber) is actually Elora Danan.
The series takes place 20 years after the film, meaning audiences will meet the grown-up version of Elora Danan. Initially, viewers are told that no one knows what happened to her; however, Episode 2 informs us that Queen Sorsha (Joanne Whalley) hid Elora away for her safety. She grew up as Brünhilde, nicknamed Dove, and soon became a competent kitchen maid in the castle.
A kitchen maid named Dove is actually Elora Danan, played by Ellie Bamber.
After "Dove" falls in love with Sorsha’s son Prince Airk (Dempsey Bryk), she finds herself on a journey to save him from his kidnappers; along the way, she crosses paths with Willow and discovers her true identity in the final moments of the series premiere. OK, we are obsessed with the show revealing this so early on!
Ellie Bamber revealed Elora is about to embark on a "journey of self-discovery."
Ahead of the series premiere, actress Ellie Bamber spoke with Decider and revealed that she knew "toward the beginning" of casting that she would take on the role of the legendary fantastical character.
"Dove/Elora in the show goes through this incredible journey of self-discovery. At the end of Episode 1, there’s this total shock because she just could never, ever conceive that that would ever be her destiny or anything like that," Ellie stated. "Then I think throughout the show she goes on a path of acceptance and figuring out what that means and how she’s going to move forward with that knowledge and how she’s going to help the people around her."
Elora Danan will go through an "incredible journey of self-discovery" in Season 1 of 'Willow.'
Ellie added, "I think she has this incredible heart and she always sees people with a beautiful kind of vision of each person, you know? She sees real good in people. So, I think she immediately wants to help the people around her and she realizes that that is her destiny and that’s what she’s going to have to do."
The first two episodes of Willow are currently streaming on Disney Plus.