Actress and director Lea Thompson is pitching a Howard the Duck movie reboot to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Best known as Lorraine Baines in the Back to the Future trilogy, Thompson also starred as Beverly Switzler in 1986’s maligned mallard movie.
Often joining lists of “worst comic book movies ever,” Willard Huyck’s Howard the Duck was a commercial and critical failure that went on to gather a cult following. After playing Switzler and singing several songs on the movie’s soundtrack, Thompson now wants to reinvent the character alongside the rest of the MCU’s big-name adaptations.
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Speaking to Inquisitr, Thompson revealed her ambitious plans to reboot the series and bring Howard to a whole new generation of fans. Asked about the possibility of her reprising her role as Switzler, Thompson replied, “Oh, my God, from your lips to God’s ears. I don’t know. To tell you the actual truth, I am going to Marvel to pitch Howard the Duck, a new movie. In like three weeks. I want to direct the Howard the Duck remake. Why not dream big, right?” More than just a pipe dream, the idea has gone further than many would’ve thought.
Plans for a Howard the Duck MCU feature were shot down on social media last year when Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn debunked the rumors. However, with the character seeing a resurgence in popularity and Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige confirming a more diverse roster of comic book characters in Phase Four, who knows what the future holds? Even if Gunn has shied away from the idea of a Howard the Duck standalone, Thompson is interested in the project, and it would fit Feige’s promise of more female directors in the MCU.
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Over the past decade, Marvel Studios has reinvented Hulk, Spider-Man and Captain America from their previous live-action movies, and there are hopes the X-Men and Fantastic Four could soon fall under the studio’s control. Although Howard the Duck might not be the most likely character to get his own solo movies beyond the events of Avengers 4, it is definitely an interesting idea.
Although Howard the Duck has largely vanished from screens since 1986, the character popped up as a background character in the MCU. Eagle-eyed viewers will have spotted Howard in both Guardians of the Galaxy movies, and he was confirmed to have survived Thanos’ finger-snap moment.