We previously reported that the legendary former Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson had passed away back in May. Now, Phil’s son Willie is speaking out to honor his father months after his death.
Willie Honors Phil After His Death
The Robertson family is currently filming season two of their new reality show Duck Dynasty: The Revival. Indeed, they’ve already revealed that the first episode will feature a powerful tribute to Phil.
Willie is speaking out this week to reveal why the timing of his father’s passing feels almost divine to him.
“I think it was such a pass-over, literally, because the show came out when Phil passed away … just within a few days of each other,” Willie, 53, told Fox News.
“We miss Phil for sure and would love to, obviously, still talk to him and have him around,” he continued. “However, I think he was ready to roll, he’s ready to move on to the next life, which he talked about, I think every day of his life while he was here on this Earth.”
Phil died on May 25, 2025 after a battle with Alzheimer’s disease. He was 79 years-old.
Willie went on to admit that filming a reality show without Phil has been emotional for the entire family. However, he also believes that Phil would be proud of what they are doing.
“It’s sad, but I think he’d be happy,” Willie said. “He’d be happy that we kept it going — especially the way the show has faith as part of it, the family. Maybe not as many ducks as he would have liked with this next generation, but we’re working on it.”
Robertsons Bring Family Values Back To TV
Willie explained that the goal of Duck Dynasty: The Revival’s next season is to bring wholesome family values back to television. This is something that Phil would definitely be getting behind.
“I think right now — I think it’s important for the country to see a family, to see a healthy family and to see joy in the things that come out of our family,” Willie said.
“We certainly saw that before with our family, where so many people would come to us and just say, ‘Thank you for putting that on,’” he added. “Maybe we can’t all live by each other. We can’t all sit together and have a prayer at the end of a meal. But we love seeing that. It helps encourage us. And so I think in these times — I think that can be helpful.”
Through all the trials and tribulations of life, the Robertson family’s foundation has never changed.
“The anchor has been, really, the faith that goes back to our three things that we started Duck Dynasty with, which were faith, family and ducks — in that order,” he stated. “What happens in life is things will start getting ahead of the other. And so you’ll look up, and maybe you’re like, ‘Uh-oh, my faith is sliding a little bit.’”
Robertsons Lean On Their Christian Faith
Moving forward, the Robertsons will continue leaning on their strong Christian faith. In the end, this is what Phil would want them to do.
“We’ve noticed that it helps,” Willie concluded. “The stronger our faith is, it helps keep our families together… when the family’s together, it can help whatever you’re doing at work.”
Duck Dynasty: The Revival Season 2 is currently in production. While no premiere date has been revealed at the time of this writing, all ten episodes of season one are available on Hulu. If you love the Robertson family as much as we do, be sure to check it out!