Was Willow's Silas In The Original Film?
Contains spoilers for "Willow" Episode 1
Morally ambiguous warriors, brave magicians, creatures and barbarians with surprisingly disturbing designs for the otherwise family-friendly adventure vibe, and a grand quest to save the realm. Truly, Willow Ufgood (Warwick Davis) is once again here, older and wiser than he was in his 1988 namesake dark fantasy movie. The very first episode of the Disney+ show "Willow" sets the stage for adventure, as a ragtag party of thieves, trainee knights, royals and suspiciously ordinary-seeming servants sets out to seek Willow's help on their mission to rescue the kidnapped Prince Airk Tanthalos (Dempsey Bryk) from the strange and powerful creatures that took him.
"Willow" features a combination of new characters and favorites from the original movie. While Madmartigan actor Val Kilmer had to be written out of the series at the last minute due to his health situation, Davis' titular Nelwyn character and Joanne Whalley's Sorsha both return in the very first episode. However, one character might make the viewer wonder which category he falls in. As the group finally finds Willow, they also meet Silas (Graham Hughes), the main character's great friend. The 1988 movie features many Nelwyn characters, so you might find yourself trying to remember whether Silas makes an appearance in the original "Willow."
Silas might be a replacement character for Meegosh
Actor Graham Hughes has appeared in projects like "Clash of the Titans," but he was not part of the cast of "Willow" the movie, which means his character makes his debut in the Disney+ show. Given Silas' status as Willow's apparent best friend, it's possible that the character was created to fill a similar narrative role as Meegosh (David Steinberg) does in the original movie. Meegosh isn't as brave as Willow, but he nevertheless chooses to accompany his friend in the first chapter of the adventure. Though Meegosh eventually decides to return to the village after it becomes evident that the stakes are much higher than he assumed, he remains on good terms with Willow, and the ending implies that they're still close.
The reason Silas appears by Willow's side instead of Meegosh is likely as simple as it is tragic. Steinberg died in 2010 at just 45 years old (via Variety).