Lea Thompson talks about wanting to direct a Howard the Duck movie for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, following his cameos in several Marvel projects.
Lea Thompson continues her campaign to Howard the Duck film for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which starred in the infamous original adaptation of the character for the big screen in 1986. The original Howard the Duck became one of the worst-rated films of all time and flopped financially at the box office. However, the film has recently experienced a recent cult following after its cameo appearances in the MCU, including: Guardians of the Universeand Avengers: Endgame​​​​​​​.
Howard the Duck follows the titular anthropomorphic duck as he lives captive on Earth, with his comics composed of social satires with an existentialist undertone. With the resurgence of the character’s popularity, Thompson is trying a Howard the Duck film made for a few years, pitching for Marvel along with comic book writer Chip Zdarsky. Marvel eventually passed on the project, but recently included the character in two episodes of What if…?
While being interviewed on The Tonight ShowThompson remains hopeful that a new Howard the Duck film is being made with her in the director’s chair. She says she’s been directing sci-fi shows lately in hopes of learning more about visual effects, just in case Marvel changes her mind. She also points out that the studio needs to hire more female directors in the future. Read her quote below:
Look, I wanted, I was in a movie about Howard the Duck, with Chip Zdarsky doing the comic book, the last installment of the Howard the Duck comic book, he put me on the cover. And so we went in and threw it… I directed a lot of sci-fi shows, big shows, to learn how to do the special effects and stuff. […] But hey, I’ve tried to learn all my special effects, just in case Marvel calls. You need some more female directors!
Why did Marvel turn down a new Howard The Duck?
Thompson is right when she says that Marvel needs more female directors (at the time of writing, only 2 of the 29 MCU films are directed exclusively by women). redo Howard the Duck​​​​​​​, one of the biggest flops in film history. On the other hand, Marvel is one of the biggest companies on the planet and certainly has the resources to hedge its bets on a less conventional product.
While Thompson’s passion for the project is clear, there are still no plans for the public to see Howard the Duck on the big screen in the near future. As unique as it would be, and nostalgic for older fans of comic books, the reputation of the original film is so infamous that Marvel is unlikely to change the tone over such a large investment. In the end it would certainly be unique if Thompson could direct Howard the Duck on its terms, but after several years of pitching for Marvel, it looks like the project is not in the cards for the foreseeable future.
Source: The Tonight Show
