Disney+
Darkwing Duck still from new Darkwing Duck reboot
Would you believe me if I told you the original Darkwing Duck only ran on Disney for two seasons back in 1991-92 despite receiving five Daytime Emmy nominations?! It was an immensely popular cartoon with elder millennials and one that was taken off air far too soon, but a Darkwing Duck reboot is officially happening!
35 years after the original show went off the air, it is set to come back with an all-star cast including Mark Hamill, Seth Rogen, Lizzy Caplan, and many others.
‘Darkwing Duck’ Reboot Coming To Disney+
Going back to November 2020, Variety was the first outlet to report that a Darkwing Duck reboot was in the works at Disney+. The Fall of 2020 seems like a lifetime ago at this point. It was nearly six full years ago and the world endured a full pandemic since then. But now the project is finally happening.
The new franchise will be spearheaded by Sean Tretta of Star Trek: Picard and Borja Peña Gorostegui of Lost & Crowned. It will be produced by Seth Rogen and his long-time writing partner Evan Goldberg alongside James Weaver, Alex McAtee and Gabby Grantham for Point Grey Pictures.
The cast signed on for the reboot is where fans really get a sense of how much Disney+ cares about this project. Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill, will voice the lead of Drake Mallard aka Darkwing Duck. Seth Rogen will voice Launchpad McQuack while Lizzy Caplan will be the new voice of Gosalyn Mallard.
Others signed on to the project according to the Disney+ announcement include Lilimar (Inside Out 2) as Duckie, Dan Stevens (Onslaught) as Glade McTowers, Tiffany Shepis (Star Trek: Picard) as Rosa, Kathryn Newton (Avengers: Doomsday) as Firecracker, Teo Briones (Final Destination Bloodlines) as Timb, Tyler Dean Flores (Neon) as Pondsy, Katie Rich (Saturday Night Live) as Officer Shanks, and Nat Faxon (The Descendants) as Officer Webb.
Referring to the project, Seth Rogen and the Point Grey Pictures team said “Disney said ‘let’s get dangerous’ and we said ‘hell yeah.’” Adding “like every other fan of the original show, I’m excited to see Darkwing getting dangerous again in a whole new series,” said Tad Stones. The new creative team has certainly amped up the action and comedy without forgetting the Disney heart. This series places DW in the literary tradition of Robin Hood, Zorro, and Sherlock Holmes, heroes whose lore has been reinterpreted by multiple creators in multiple mediums. They explored the core of those characters by tossing them into new eras, new relationships, and even new universes. No matter when or where, Darkwing Duck will appear in a cloud of blue smoke to grab the spotlight.”
If you remember coming home from school, flipping on the Disney Channel, and watching Darkwing Duck back in the day then you and I are cut from the same cloth. While the show only ran for two seasons it was certainly on TV for much longer. And when I saw this teaser hit the Internet the hair on my arms stood up.
Are you hyped for this project? Should I continue to write up updates as they come out in the future? Let me know what you think down below in the comments!