Joanne Whalley promises that the older, wiser Sorsha is still a badass in new Willow series

Is there anything better than a heroine who kicks ass? Maybe a heroine who kicks ass and transforms from villain to hero over the course of the story?

For a generation, that was Sorsha (Joanne Whalley) in Willow, daughter and sword of the evil Queen Bavmorda (Jean Marsh), until a brush with love and Madmartigan (Val Kilmer) leads her to fight with the good guys.

Now, Sorsha is back — and she's queen. In the new Willow series, which is coming to Disney+ on Nov. 30, Whalley is one of a handful of familiar faces returning to the fantastical world alongside Warwick Davis' titular hero.

And while the first film featured a major change of heart for Sorsha, audiences need not fear that she's changed too much in the intervening decades.

"What I loved about her in the beginning is that she was a combination of contradictions, as we all are, in that she was quite fierce and capable and strong and vulnerable and romantic," Whalley tells EW. "We're whole human beings. Sorsha as an older person is still a combination of those things."

"Now, she has children of her own, and has responsibilities that have fallen to her in the way of inheriting her mother's title and all that goes with it," she continues. "[She has a] sense of social responsibility and leadership and justice, but she's still a mum who's a bit corny sometimes. She's still got a romantic side."

While Whalley is mum about particulars, she promises that she herself is still in fighting shape and can wield a sword, which we can only hope translates to the screen.

We caught up with Whalley on a sweltering summer day in Los Angeles that had her wishing for the cooler climes of filming in Wales. The actress discussed everything from what it was like returning to such an essential role in her career to the romanticism she wanted to make sure still emerged amidst Sorsha's role as queen and mother.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Obviously, the original film really meant a lot to so many people, but what made you want to return to the world? Was it an easy yes for you?

JOANNE WHALLEY: It was, actually. For years, there'd been rumors about revisiting Willow. You always have that, "Well, we'll believe it when we see it," notion in our heads. I never thought I would not be involved, either. It's a no-brainer. Like it or not, I'm Princess Sorsha, and now, Queen Sorsha. It would have [been] awful to not be involved in it. But there was never a no, because of the way it was presented, and the people involved, and what they wanted, and how much they loved it, and their intention. I'm here; I can still handle a sword.

Yes, she was inspiring to so many young women because she was in no way a damsel in distress.

You know what I like about that — it's not a big deal. It's just, "Well, there's a monster in front of me. I'm going to have to deal with it." It's not like, "Now I'm going to have to use my special strength, and I'm an extraordinary [person]." There's a goddamn monster in front of you. If you need to get past, you're going to have to deal with it. It's just very practical, and I love that about her.

When you were making the original film, were there moments where you looked to enhance that kickass-ness of her character, or was that all there in the script?

It was pretty much there. I don't remember needing to have 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, when it's good, it's all in the script. The actors are there to illuminate it, and one particular personal attribute might bring something else in that the scriptwriters were not necessarily conscious of, but it starts with a good script.

You mentioned you can still handle a sword, so is Sorsha still a badass? Are we going to get to see her doing some of that fighting?

She's not laying down. It might have been a while, but sometimes, you just have to deal with what's in front of you, and she is very practical at heart. I'm not going to say anything else, because it'll spoil it.

It's been a minute since we've seen her. How would you describe her at this point in her life where we pick back up with her?

She's older and wiser. She's carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders, and she is struggling under that burden. There are things looming for the people as a whole. There's stuff in her family relationships that are proving difficult. There's something she might not have been completely straightforward about [in terms of] the level of honesty between her and her kids. When you're the carer, when you're the person in charge and responsible for everyone, you can't share everything. They have no one to rely on if they think you're going to crumble. You have to carry it and carry it for everyone.

She's a little world-weary, and there's stuff coming up that she can see where it's going that she has anxiety and fear about, but she's going to deal with things as best she can. She doesn't have an easy life. It's difficult when you need to be seen as the parent, the one who's in charge, who keeps the world safe and strong — when you start to show them it's a choice, when you start to show them that actually, you're human and you're vulnerable just like they are. Because they're not always prepared to accept that. It's a tricky place that I think a lot of people find themselves in. You have to make compromises. It can be a burden. That's where we find her.

In the film, a big part of her journey is her move from being this agent of her mother's evil to a hero in her own right, but with all of that you're talking about and being in a difficult position, is she still grappling with that at all, or understanding her mother a bit more, or anything like that?

You can try, but you can't really find too many excuses for Bavmorda. I don't know if there's a path to forgiveness for Bavmorda, because she was an out-and-out baddie, but she certainly has a level of understanding that you wouldn't have when you were younger.

Something people really loved in the original film was Sorsha's romance with Madmartigan. Will we get more information about what happened between them in the intervening years?

You can't do Willow and not have that be an important element of how the story evolved. It's absolutely addressed. You couldn't do it without it.

You've alluded to it already, but her children are a big part of the story here. Can you tease what that means for her or the show overall?

Just like in a family business, the younger ones come through and step forward into the framework that you have set there for them, and then they have to take it on. Some personalities are more suited to that than others. There's a time when your children become not just your children. There's a shift in your relationship that you come to rely on them in different ways and that you relate to them in grown-up ways. You never give up the parent-child relationship, but it evolves and shifts into a new dynamic. It's a very natural, normal evolution. These things happen in families. There's shifts, and there's gear changes, there's passing on of things, there's the light of truth that shines in on what you might have been protected from for your own good. These things get revealed as you grow older and you start to see your parents in a different light, and you start to maybe understand what they did, because that's what seemed to be the right thing at the time, but no one can have the foresight. It's a very different world, but it's the same thing we all go through.

You mentioned her romanticism. Will she continue to have some romance in the storytelling now that she is queen and has a lot on her plate?

That's the thing I really like about Sorsha. She's your mum who can go out and kill monsters with a sword, but she's your mum who likes to watch the odd Hallmark movie. She's all of those things in one place. Everyone's so concerned about slapping labels on things and will limit themselves to one shade of something, one behavior trait or one trademark look. It's denying the spectrum of things that are there. I love the things that are contradictory in people, because that's when you see that they're human beings. Her romantic streak hasn't gone anywhere. The idea of how she wants to make the kingdom safe, that's a romantic notion. The world that she wants to pass onto 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.

Make sure to check out EW's Fall TV Preview cover story — as well as all of our 2022 Fall TV Preview content, releasing over 22 days through Sept. 29.

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