Is Howard the Duck a Disney movie?

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is getting to be a crowded place. New characters continue to be added in one movie or TV series after another and Marvel is churning out content faster than ever before thanks to adding Disney+ to the mix. There are a lot of upcoming Marvel series.  With so many characters to juggle it would be easy to see some forgotten about or sidelined, but if you’re hoping for more Howard the Duck in the MCU, you might be getting him sooner than you think, and in a surprising place. A new magazine with ties to Disney is claiming Howard will appear in the upcoming She-Hulk series on Disney+.

Fans of the MCU Howard the Duck were likely expecting to see him again down the road. The character was introduced in the post-credits scene of the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie and Howard appears again in a brief cameo early in the sequel. James Gunn clearly likes the character and one would expect Howard will appear, however briefly, in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. However the newest issue of France’s Piscou Magazine (via @tuttiquantinoob\), a children’s magazine that licenses Disney characters and contains lots of Disney info, is apparently teasing that Howard the Duck will appear in some capacity in the new She-Hulk series. 

The bit is very vague as to how this will allegedly happen, and all it is claiming are that the new series could contain Howard the Duck related surprises, but since the magazine in question, while not published by Disney, has an official connection to the company, it has some degree of authority.

And She-Hulk isn’t actually that strange a place to find Howard the Duck. The two characters did cross paths in the ‘80s when Steve Gerber, the creator of Howard, wrote several issues of The Sensational She-Hulk and brought Howard into the story. The fact that the two characters are linked could mean that we could get another Howard the Duck cameo or even just a simple easter egg as a way to reference the connection.

Of course, it’s equally possible that Howard the Duck could end up being a bigger part of the story in She-Hulk. At various points in the comics She-Hulkr has been absolutely Deadpool-like when it comes to breaking the fourth wall and being funny. We’ve only seen the smallest part of the show in promos so what we actually know about She-Hulk is limited and while it looks to be largely playing things straight, it’s possible there’s more going on.

Of course, we probably will still see Howard the Duck in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 as well. It seems appropriate to complete that trilogy. But how we see Howard show up there might actually depend on how the character is handled in She-Hulk. 

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Comic book movies are more popular than ever right now, but there was a time when the genre was thought to be a major risk. After the failure of 1997’s Batman & Robin, audiences assumed that superhero films were simply a fad that was destined to fade away. It took the success of Blade to relaunch the genre. Blade was followed by X-Men and Spider-Man, and cinema has never been the same ever since.

Although Blade was the Marvel Comics adaptation that broke through, it wasn’t the first attempt to bring one of the classic characters to life. There had been various animated series, serials, and TV film adaptations since the 1940s. Believe it or not, the first Marvel movie to ever hit theaters was the notorious disaster Howard the Duck. Nicknamed “Howard the Turkey” upon its release, the film was so reviled that it took another decade for Marvel to recover. Howard the Duck is strangely one of the most influential films of its era; many of the successes of today can be traced back to this pivotal failure.

Image via Universal Pictures

Marvel's First Film

Making a Howard the Duck film the first Marvel adaptation was an odd choice from the beginning. Following the success of Star Wars in 1977, science fiction films were more popular than ever. Wouldn’t it make sense to center a franchise around a galactic hero, like the Silver Surfer, the Fantastic Four, or Captain Marvel? The Howard the Duck comics were subversive parodies of characters like Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor. The Howard the Duck film was trying to lampoon a genre that hadn’t launched yet.

However, Howard the Duck comics were among the top-sellers for Marvel in the 1980s. Howard was essentially the Deadpoolof his era; he was a rude, obnoxious womanizer who lampooned self-serious sleuths and heroes. The comics’ popularity almost caused legal issues, as the Walt Disney Company attempted to confront Marvel about the similarities to Donald Duck. The popularity of the character inspired Lucasfilm to begin developing an animated film. However, a contractual discrepancy forced Lucasfilm to make a live-action film.

One of the first changes that screenwriters Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz made to the original source material was turning Howard into a more likable, charming character. This immediately created a confusion of tone. The film begins with a sly opening sequence that includes some adult jokes, including the infamous reveal of a naked female duck on Howard’s home planet. This would seemingly set the film up for a more satirical tone, but once Howard turns into a hero, it turns into a more conventional crowd pleaser. It was too inappropriate for children, but took itself too seriously for adults to enjoy.

Image via Lucasfilm

Although Huyck didn’t go on to direct any other feature films, he’s hardly a nobody. Huyck was among a group of film students known as the “USC Mafia,” whose members included George Lucas, Walter Mutch, John Milius, and Randal Kleiser. Huyck also received an Academy Award nomination for co-writing American Graffiti. Thanks to the involvement of Lucas, Howard the Duck featured some fairly groundbreaking special effects. Unfortunately, the use of a practical duck suit didn’t work; since multiple actors were playing Howard, there was no consistency within the characterization. The budget ballooned to $37 million.

Gerber was consulted during the film’s production, but the project eventually steered away from the original source material. Among the issues of the film’s confusion of tone is the awkward, borderline sexual nature of Howard’s romance with Beverly Switzler (Lea Thompson). Thompson was riding high after the success of Back to the Future a year earlier. After Howard the Duck was released, Thompson said that she had to turn down Some Kind of Wonderful. Gerber essentially disowned the film.

Howard the Duck Lays an Egg

The film was met with a disastrous response. Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel lampooned the film’s disastrous creative decisions, and cited the unlikeable lead character as their chief criticism. Howard didn’t fare any better with audiences. It ended up grossing a measly $38 million. It was an embarrassment for Lucasfilm following the success of the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises. Lucasfilm was suddenly facing financial problems; Labyrinth, Willow, Tucker: The Man and His Dream, and Radioland also ended up underperforming. Although none of these projects were as reviled as Howard the Duck, Lucasfilm’s streak of success was over.

Lucas had just gotten divorced from Marcia Griffin. Due to the legal arrangement, he had to give up half of his assets. Between the investment in Skywalker Ranch and the series of cinematic failures (Howard the Duck chief among them), Lucas was forced to sell his blossoming Pixar company to Steve Jobs. Marvel was forced to yield box office supremacy to its competitor when DC’s Batman became a smash hit in 1989.

Howard's Cult Audience

All plans of a sequel were abandoned, but “Howard the Turkey” has its defenders. The film has steadily gained a cult audience over the years. Thompson, Jim Jeffries, and Ed Gale have stated that they enjoyed their experiences. Thompson even pitched Marvel Studios and Kevin Feige with a new adaption after Howard made a cameo appearance in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy. Although a new Howard the Duck series on Hulu was put on hold, Seth Green reprised his role as Howard in What If?

Ultimately, the right lessons were learned from Howard the Duck. In order for a comic book adaptation to succeed, it needs to have both a tonal consistency and an endearing protagonist. Perhaps, we wouldn’t have Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine or Robert Downy Jr.’s Iron Man if Marvel hadn’t seen what a disaster looked like. Howard the Duck is a product of its era; whether you love it or hate it, you’ve certainly seen nothing like it.