Have no fear! Darkwing Duck is returning to save the day in a new Disney+ reboot—probably. The superhero duck first burst onto the pop culture scene in 1991, running on Disney Channel, during ABC's Saturday morning cartoon block and, most famously, as part of the "Disney Afternoon" group of series that was syndicated to local stations for the after-school set. The show ran for three seasons, totaling 93 episodes in all—but despite only airing original episodes for two years, Darkwing Duck has remained one of the most beloved shows in the Disney stable, especially among nostalgic kids of the '90s.
Since the series left the air, the character of Darkwing (created by Disney TV vet Tad Stones) has continued to pop up in comic books and video games. But the superduck's most prominent appearance came recently, on Disney's reboot of another classic from the same era, DuckTales. Although Darkwing himself never appeared on the original DuckTales, both series featured the supporting characters of Launchpad McQuack, who also returned for the new DuckTales. So it wasn't a huge stretch when DuckTales re-established Darkwing Duck as an old TV show Launchpad loved—and which Scrooge McDuck later attempted to reboot with an actor named Drake Mallard, which just so happened to be the same name of Darkwing's alter ego in the original series. By season three, DuckTales had gone full Darkwing, dedicating a recent episode to showcasing Drake Mallard's decision to fight crime as Darkwing Duck in "real life."
Now comes word that, much like Scrooge McDuck, Disney is eyeing a real reboot for Darkwing Duck, making clear that the character's DuckTales return may have been a dry run for a new series. Per Variety, a new edition of Darkwing Duck is already in the early stages of development, and the studio is considering it as a series for its content-hungry and wildly successful streaming service, Disney+. Although creator Tad Stones is apparently not attached, the studio has not named a writer, but the show is in good comedic hands, with Seth Rogen and partner Evan Goldberg (The Boys, Sausage Party) already signed on as executive producers. The duo's Point Grey Pictures is behind the project.
Should it happen, the new Darkwing Duck would be the latest treasure from the vault that the studio has mined for Disney+ reboots, joining new series versions of everything from Willow to Doogie Howser, M.D., as well as movie reboots of Home Alone, Lady and the Tramp, and more. While no voice cast has been announced for a Darkwing Duck reboot, it's worth noting that while original Darkwing voice actor and animation legend Jim Cummings returned to voice the "old" version of the character on the recent DuckTales episodes, the new version of Drake Mallard/Darkwing was voiced by actor Chris Diamantopoulos (Silicon Valley and the current voice of Mickey Mouse). Presumably, Diamantopoulos would topline the rebooted Darkwing Duck, along with SNL's Beck Bennett (who took over for Launchpad on the new DuckTales) and Brooklyn Nine-Nine's Stephanie Beatriz, who recently debuted as Darkwing's daughter Gosalyn.
Relaunching Darkwing Duck makes perfect sense. Like DuckTales, the series remains beloved to '90s kids, and the characters have been carefully re-introduced to a new generation on the DuckTales reboot. Beyond that, Disney+ has a never-ending need for new content to satisfy kids (and their parents) who've already binge-watched everything else on the service. The new DuckTales has been a hit with fans, and if another reboot will be anywhere near that show's high level of quality, then a revamped Darkwing Duck could be yet another home run for the iconic animation studio.
Source: Variety
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