Although he first gained fame for his on-screen role as Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars trilogy, Mark Hamill is one of the most prominent and prolific voice actors in animation. He famously portrayed the Joker on Batman: The Animated Series in 1992, and has gone back to reprise the character numerous times. He’s since starred in a number of animated series, often in villainous or supernatural roles, including the Hobgoblin on Spider-Man, Fire Lord Ozai on Avatar: The Last Airbender, Skips on Regular Show, and the Hanukkah Zombie on Futurama. Recently, he played the villainous Flying Dutchman in The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants. Now, he’s set to return as one of the most beloved ’90s animated characters ever.
The terror that flaps in the night is back. Darkwing Duck, Disney‘s greatest crime-fighting fowl, is getting a new animated reboot on Disney+. The series, which will be produced by Seth Rogen and his Point Grey Productions, has been in development for years, but now it finally has the green light from the streamer. We also finally know some more details about the series, including its star-studded voice cast. Darkwing Duck debuted in 1991; it told the tale of Drake Mallard, an average citizen of the city of St. Canard by day, and the masked vigilante Darkwing Duck by night. Bereft of any superhuman (or super-avian) powers, Darkwing Duck battles crime with the help of his wits, his array of high-tech vehicles and gadgets, his trusty sidekick Launchpad McQuack, and his youthful ward, Gosalyn.
The series starred veteran voice actor Jim Cummings as Darkwing Duck; he later returned in the 2017 DuckTales reboot as Jim Starling, an actor who plays the fictional Darkwing, and becomes the villainous Negaduck when he’s recast, while the new Darkwing becomes a vigilante for real. The new Darkwing Duck reboot will not follow up on that DuckTales plotline, but will instead serve as a sequel to the original series. As it opens, Drake Mallard (Hamill, Star Wars) has been trapped in an alternate reality where he was never a superhero. However, with the help of Duckie (Lilimar, Inside Out 2), a rebellious teenager, he finds his way back to heroics, and to Launchpad (Rogen), Gosalyn (Lizzy Caplan, Party Down), and his mystical lady love, Morgana. Unfortunately, he’s also got to face off against his old foes, including Megavolt and Negaduck.
Who Are the Creatives Behind the New ‘Darkwing Duck’?
The new Darkwing Duck is executive produced by Sean Tretta (Mayans MC) and Borja Peña Gorostegui (Lost and Crowned); Tad Stones, who created the original series, served as a consultant on the new series. Rogen will produce for Point Grey alongside Evan Goldberg, James Weaver, Alex McAtee, and Gabby Grantham. The series will also feature a number of new characters who will be played by Dan Stevens (Onslaught), Tiffany Shepis (Star Trek: Picard), Kathryn Newton (Freaky), Teo Briones (Final Destination Bloodlines), Tyler Dean Flores (Neon), Katie Rich (Saturday Night Live), and Nat Faxon (Super Troopers 3) as Officer Webb
Darkwing Duck is in development; no release date has yet been announced.
via Collider