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A cloud of smoke and he appears, a master of surprise!
The catchy theme song doesn’t lie: The ’90s childhood cartoon Darkwing Duck is about to reappear — and it is indeed a surprise.
Disney+ has greenlit an all-new series, 35 years after the original premiered.
Here’s how it lays out the new premise: “Darkwing Duck has been trapped in his worst nightmare: an alternate world that’s never heard of his superhero exploits. Now a rebellious teen named Duckie, who knows all about his heroic past, shows up to pull this ego-fuelled vigilante back into battle.”
While the storyline is new, it was developed with input from the creator of the original series, Tad Stones, and some beloved characters from the original franchise are returning, with famous names behind them.
Mark Hamill will be voicing Drake Mallard, also known as Darkwing Duck (a.k.a. the protector of the city of St. Canard, a.k.a. the Terror that Flaps in the Night).
The Instagram post announcing the reboot was met with mixed reaction from fans of the original series, and fans of the original voice of the lead character, Jim Cummings.
“Darkwing Duck = Jim Cummings. Full stop. Respect your legends, Disney,” wrote one user.
“No disrespect to Mark Hamill, he’s a great voice actor too! But Jim helped give that character a voice,” wrote another.
Canadian Seth Rogen will be voicing the role of Darkwing’s absent-minded sidekick Launchpad McQuack, and Lizzy Caplan will voice his adopted daughter, Gosalyn Mallard.
Venezuelan American actor Lilimar Hernandez, who voiced Valentina (Val) Ortiz in Inside Out 2, has been cast in the all-new role of Duckie.
The original Darkwing Duck premiered on the Disney Channel in 1991 and ran for 91 episodes, with the Emmy-nominated show airing in syndication until roughly 1997.
The beloved crime-fighting duck also appeared in video games for Nintendo NES and Game Boy.
Rogen’s production company, Point Grey Pictures, which recently produced a special instalment of The Muppet Show for Disney+, will also be producing the new Darkwing Duck.
The Point Grey team invoked the titular character’s catchphrase in a statement on Tuesday: “Disney said, ‘Let’s get dangerous,’ and we said, ‘Hell yeah.'”
