Right up front, if you’ve never seen Forged In Fire, do yourself a favor and give it a watch. It’s like Bake Off for bladesmiths. No, really. This reality competition follows groups of skilled craftsmen as they create all sorts of swords, knives, daggers, and other exotic blades.
Contestants on Forged In Fire offer their creations up to a strict judges panel, where the folks in question stand to take home a winning prize of around 10,000 dollars. More than the contestants, though, fans of the series tune in to catch a glimpse of the show’s all-star panel of judges, including (on a rotating basis): J. Neilson, David Baker, Doug Marcaida, Jason Knight, and Ben Abbott.
Apart from the judges and equally as important, has stood the eccentric host of this ongoing series. Which is why what I’m about to say is so painful. It’s time for the Forged In Fire fandom to face a scarier truth than any blade ever made — Wil Willis has left the show, and there’s no getting the guy back.
Former U.S. Army Ranger and decorated Air Force para-rescue specialist, Wil Willis was the perfect guy for this wildly rugged job. Now, History Channel has replaced Willis with another former military man — Grady Powell, and Powell certainly has some Wil Willis-sized shoes to fill.
In truth, Grady is doing a great job as the new host of Forged In Fire, but that still hasn’t stopped fans around the world from wondering what the heck happened to Willis. So with that in mind, let’s find out where Wil Willis went off to and what he’s doing now.
What happened to Wil Willis?
I’ll get straight to the point. Wil Willis left Forged In Fire to spend more time with his family. That’s it. According to an article by Byliner, show business had taken him away from his family too often, and with three growing kids — Willis wanted to spend more time at home. Father of the year, anyone?
Honestly, who can blame the guy? Wanting to be more present for the life of your children is as noble an undertaking as any, and one that we all should be respectful of. Especially when that parent is Wil Willis.
So, will Will Willis (say that five times fast) return to Forged In Fire? Only time will tell. Until then, let’s get back into the forge and watch some blades get made.