During a recent interview with Weekly entertainmentJoanne Whalley sat down to discuss her legacy Willow character and more about what to expect in the sequel. Whalley plays Sorsha, who in the 1988 film is the daughter of the evil Queen Bavmorda (Jean Marsh). However, she falls in love with Madmartigan (Val Kilmer) and chooses the good.
“What I loved about her in the beginning is that she was a combination of contradictions, like all of us, in that she was pretty fierce and capable and strong and vulnerable and romantic. We’re whole people,” Whalley said. .
Sorsha was inspiring to many young women because she wasn’t a damsel in distress, and what Whalley loved was that it wasn’t too bad. It was just, “Well, there’s a monster in front of me. I’ll have to deal with it.” It’s not like, “Now I have to use my special power, and I’m an extraordinary one” [person]It was very practical, and that’s what Whalley loved about her.
“It was just about there. I don’t remember needing conversations like, ‘There’s something wrong with this character.’ It was a gift of a job. The seeds were there. It’s all there. The old saying, if it’s right, it’s all in the script. The actors are there to light it, and a certain personal characteristic can be there bring in something else the screenwriters weren’t necessarily aware of, but it starts with a good script.”
What’s next for Sorsha
While Whalley couldn’t say much for fear of spoilers, she was able to confirm that Sorsha is still a badass in the upcoming Disney+ series. Plus, she’s older and wiser now, but she carries the weight of the world on her shoulders. So Sorsha is a little world wear and struggling under that burden, but will handle things the best she can.
“Things are threatening for the people as a whole. There are things in her family relationships that are proving difficult. There is something she may not have been quite clear about [in terms of] the level of honesty between her and her children. If you are the caretaker, if you are the responsible and responsible for everyone, you cannot share everything. They have no one to rely on if they think you’re going to crumble. You have to wear it and wear it for everyone.”
Sorsha’s family will be a big part of the sequel. In addition to tackling the situation between Sorsha and Madmartigan, their children will also come into play. According to Whalley, just like in a family business, young people should step forward within the framework that their parents have set for them. That’s when your parent-child relationship doesn’t disappear, but evolves and shifts into a new dynamic.
“There are shifts and there are gear shifts, there are things being passed on, there is the light of truth shining on what you might be protected from for your own good. These things are revealed as you get older and you put your parents into a different light, and you may begin to understand what they were doing, because that seemed to be the right thing at the time, but no one can foresee. It’s a very different world, but it’s the same thing we’re all going through.”
And even as an older person, Sorsha is still full of contradictions. She is a mother who can go out to kill monsters with a sword and she likes to watch the strange Hallmark movie. “Everyone is so concerned about putting labels on things and will limit themselves to one shade of something, one behavioral trait or one trademark.” Whalley believes this negates the spectrum of things out there.
“I like the things that are contradictory in people, because then you see that they are people. Her romantic streak has gone nowhere. The idea of how she wants to make the kingdom safe, that’s a romantic idea. The world she wants to pass on to her children, that’s romantic. On a personal level, she’s never lost that romantic streak that made her fall head over heels in love with Madmartigan. She’s a whole person, and that’s why I love her.”