Harry Potter actor hits out at Disney Plus over ‘embarrassing’ series removal

Davis’s show was among 40 titles culled from the platform earlier this year

Warwick Davis has hit out at Disney Plus months after his series Willow was unceremoniously removed from the platform.

In November last year, the British actor, 53, starred in Disney Plus series Willow, a multi-episode sequel to the 1988 film of the same name, in which he also appeared.

In May this year, after only seven months on the platform, the 2022 fantasy show was among at least 40 titles pulled from the streaming site as part of a broader cost-cutting initiative under Disney CEO Bob Iger.

Other shows to be culled were Kat Dennings’ comedy series Dollface, and The Mysterious Benedict Society.

Writing on Twitter/X on Saturday (14 October), Davis wrote: “I meet lovely people on a daily basis who are fans of #Willow, who are the reason the @DisneyPlus Series was made.

“Please tell me @WaltDisneyCo, what do I say to these subscribers when they ask why they can’t watch the series any more? #embarrassing.”

The Independent has contacted a representative of Disney Plus for comment.

Willow sees Davis reprise his role of Willow Ufgood in the high fantasy adventure series. Original star Val Kilmer, however, was unable to return to his respective role, due to his throat cancer diagnosis as well as the pandemic.

Warwick Davis in ‘Willow' (Lucasfilm Ltd.)

Director Jonathan Kasdan has said while the show was cancelled, season two has already been written and he is hopeful that it will be made.

Some of the abandoned Disney Plus originals have since made their way to various other digital platforms. For example, the sci-fi blockbuster Crater – which was erased from the platform only weeks after it premiered – has found a new home on Amazon and Vudu, where it is available to rent.

The same month that it was revealed that Disney Plus would be culling at least 40 titles, it was also announced that the streaming platform had lost four million subscribers in the first three months of 2023, continuing a decline for the platform, which lost 2.4 million in the last quarter of 2022.

During Disney’s earnings call with analysts, chief financial officer Christine McCarthy announced that Disney will be “removing certain content from our streaming platforms”.

Disney Plus is home to a number of hugely popular shows, such as Marvel’s WandaVision, the Star Wars spin-off series The Mandalorian, and the critically acclaimed drama Dopesick, which explores America’s opioid crisis.

Warwick Davis reprising his Willow role in the new TV series ‘Willow’ (Lucasfilm/Disney)

See below for a list of all the titles that were removed earlier this year:

• America the Beautiful
• Among the Stars
• Be Our Chef
• Best in Dough
• Best in Snow
• Better Nate Than Ever
• The Big Fib
• Big Shot
• Black Beauty
• Cheaper by the Dozen (2022)
• Clouds
• Darby and the Dead
• Diary of a Future President
• Disney Fairy Tale Weddings
• Dollface
• Earth to Ned
• Encore!
• Everything’s Trash
• Foodtastic
• Harmonious Live!
• Howard
• It’s a Dog’s Life With Bill Farmer
• Just Beyond
• Little Demon
• Love in the Time of Corona
• Maggie
• Magic Camp
• The Making of Willow
• The Mighty Ducks
• Marvel’s Hero Project
• Marvel’s MPower
• More Than Robots
• The Mysterious Benedict Society
• The One and Only Ivan
• Own the Room
• Pentatonix: Around the World for the Holidays
• Pick of the Litter
• Pistol
• The Premise
• The Princess
• The Quest
• The Real Right Stuff
• Rogue Trip
• Rosaline
• Shop Class
• A Spark Story
• Stargirl (2020)
• Stuntman
• Super/Natural
• Timmy Failure
• Turner & Hooch
• Weird but True!
• Willow
• Wolfgang
• The World According to Jeff Goldblum
• Y: The Last Man