Disney has decided to remove several titles from its streaming service and the biggest surprise is the Lucasfilm series Willow. Not surprisingly, people are not taking the news well and show writer John Bickerstaff is blasting the House of Mouse for its "absolutely cruel" decision to delist their series.
John Bickerstaff took to Twitter to express his disdain for Disney's decision to delist several shows including Willow.
The writer, who worked on Willow's third episode The Battle of the Slaughtered Lamb, pointed out that the show is being removed from the streaming service less than six months since the first season concluded.
"They gave us six months. Not even. This business has become absolutely cruel," Bickerstaff wrote.
In a follow-up tweet, the writer explained that the decision is not a tax write-off.
"Before you say tax-write off: these shows have already been released and so can't be a write-off. And in the case of Willow, they own the property outright," Bickerstaff wrote.
"The only conclusion is that this is to get out of paying residuals. During a strike," he added.
"And look, eternal streaming libraries are not sustainable. We're all going to have to adjust to that at some point," Bickerstaff added in another tweet. "But to spend [REDACTED] on a show and then disappear it six months later is just bad business."
The Willow series serves as a sequel to the 1988 film. The show premiered on Disney+ in November 2022 and was expected to get a second season. However, Disney has since announced that Willow will not be moving forward with Season 2.
Willow brought back Warwick Davis and Joanne Whalley from the original film. The series also starred Ellie Bamber, Ruby Cruz, Erin Kellyman, Tony Revolori, Amar Chadha-Patel, and Dempsey Bryk.
The Willow series will be removed from Disney+ on May 26, 2023.