Meet the new female heroes of Disney+ series 'Willow' who reveal an LGBTQ romance, grown-up Elora Danan

Willow Ufgood never worked his magic alone in the 1998 adventure fantasy "Willow."

The pure-hearted sorcerer wannabe (Warwick Davis) relied on a motley crew that included the drunken knight Madmartigan (Val Kilmer) and the warrior Sorsha (Joanne Whalley) on his epic adventure: saving endangered baby Elora Danan, who is prophesied to become empress.

More than 34 years later, Davis is back in the Disney+ series "Willow" (first two episodes now streaming) to save the world with a new generation of champions. The female-focused team includes Madmartigan and Sorsha's daughter Princess Kit (Ruby Cruz), Kit's protective childhood best friend Jade (Erin Kellyman) and resourceful kitchen maid Brunhilde, nicknamed Dove (Ellie Bamber).

Their quest reveals budding LGBTQ love and the once super-secret identity of the now-grown Elora Danan. Here are the heroes of "Willow":

'Willow' star Warwick Davis: Celebrates his underdog return in Disney+ series: 'Absolutely magic'

Princess Kit rides into adventure and new love

Cruz, 22, who had a breakout role in HBO's 2021 drama "Mare of Easttown," has her hands full portraying Princess Kit's complicated family life. The young royal bristles against her over-protective, duty-oriented mother, Queen Sorsha (Whalley, reprising her film role), who pushes her daughter toward a strategic marriage with a prince (Tony Revolori). Kit's other parent is the legendary  Madmartigan, who disappeared when she was a child.

"In a way, she looks up to her parents and rejects them, especially having the larger-than-life father Madmartigan, who is never around," says Cruz.

Kit jumps at the chance to rescue her kidnapped brother, Prince Airk (Dempsey Bryk) prompting her childhood bestie and blossoming lover Jade to join the rescue party.

"Their relationship is really special," says Cruz. "I'm really proud of what we've put together, constructing an authentic representation of queerness and of two people falling in love. It was the greatest of honors to tell the story of these two women."

Protective Jade has big heart, wields lethal sword

Kellyman made a major impact on screenwriter Jonathan Kasdan as the resilient resistance fighter Enfys Nest in 2018’s "Solo: A Star Wars Story."  As "Willow" executive producer, Kasdan wrote the noble knight-in-training Jade character for the 24-year-old British actress,

"Jonathan told me that he had me in his mind for Jade since 'Solo,' which was a complete shock," says Kellyman. "I was overwhelmed."

The warrior shift required Kellyman to trade her "Solo" staff for a "Willow" sword, taking part in a month of stunt training to become weapon and battle-proficient.

"I've never had a prop before other than my staff, so it was great to be trained properly," says Kellyman, who shows fierce skills. Yet she still was dinged with a sword shooting a scene with Cruz that "got me right above the eyebrow. I had a big black eye after that. It wasn't great."

Portraying the evolving and confusing relationship between Jade and Kit was much more satisfying and on the mark.

"It means so much to me to completely hone in on getting these characters right," says Kellyman. "We wanted to make it believable for people watching who may have struggled with figuring out their own sexuality."

Dove is much more than a great muffin maker

After sparking intense love with the once-womanizing Prince Airk, Dove (his nickname for her) quickly proves she is much more than her boast of being "the best buttered-muffin maker in the whole land."

She's the first to volunteer on the perilous search for her stolen lover despite a complete lack of fighting skills.

"We kind of trick everyone into thinking that she's not going to be that useful on this quest. But they find out otherwise, pretty quickly. She has grit, feistiness and determination," says Bamber, 25, who first made a splash as Cosette in the British 2019 TV series "Les Misérables."

While Bamber learned zombie-killing skills training for 2016's Jane Austen action spoof "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies," it's Dove's magic powers that prove the most impactful. To her own surprise, she's revealed to be the grown Elora Danan, whose identity has been kept secret (even from herself) for her safety.

"She truly doesn't believe in herself, to begin with, and many characters around her don't believe in her either," says Bamber. "She goes on this journey of understanding and eventually self-belief through the help of everyone around her."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Disney+ 'Willow' new women heroes bring LGBTQ love, grown Elora Danan