Lea Thompson plans to pitch a new Howard the Duck movie to Marvel Studios

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

While engaging in a recent interview with the privately owned news and media website Inquisitr, BACK TO THE FUTURE actress Lea Thompson revealed that she's putting together a pitch for Marvel Studios that's bound to ruffle a few feathers. Nowadays, it might take casual movie goers a moment or two to remember that films based on Marvel properties existed long before the studio launched their MCU with Jon Favreau's IRON MAN (2008). Oh, I'm not talking about BLADE, heaven's no. The Marvel character I'm quacking about is none other than Howard the Duck. Now, whipper snappers of the current generation will tell you that Howard was included as a cameo character in James Gunn's GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY. They'd be correct, though Howard was also the star of his very own live-action comedy back in 1986. In HOWARD THE DUCK, a sarcastic humanoid duck is pulled from his home world to Earth where he must stop a hellish alien invasion with the help of a nerdy scientist and a cute struggling female rock singer who fancies him. Fun Fact: Lea Thompson was the "struggling female rock singer."

As I was saying, Thompson sat down for a fireside chat with Inquisitr. During their talk, the SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL star said that she plans to pitch a new HOWARD THE DUCK movie to Marvel in as little as three weeks from now. What? You don't believe me? Psssh, read it and weep:

"Oh my god, from your lips to God's ears," Thompson said. "I don't know. To tell you the actual truth, I am going to Marvel to pitch Howard the Duck, a new movie. In like three weeks. I want to direct the Howard the Duck remake. Why not dream big, right?"

While I'm not sure that Marvel has room in their schedule for a new HOWARD THE DUCK movie, I certainly admire Thompson's moxie in thinking that she can get it made. In truth, the cigar-chomping, wise-cracking bird in a fedora has seen something of a resurgence over the past few years thanks in-part to the efforts of comic book creators Chip Zdarsky and Joe Quinones. With that in mind, is a HOWARD THE DUCK film revival truly out of the question? Probably, though I must remind you all that stranger things have happened.

"You know, Howard the Duck is so beloved for being so maligned," Thompson remarked to Inquisitr. "I go to conventions, I go to do Back to the Future panels with Michael Fox and Chris Lloyd and Tom Wilson. I sit there, and I meet the fans, and a good one-third of them say 'I am the only person who liked Howard the Duck.' It's hilarious."

I'll say this much. Even if Thompson's meeting with Marvel doesn't yield a new Howard the Duck film, perhaps they can find a way to welcome the fan favorite actress into the MCU by way of a new or to-be-featured character. Either way, Thompson has much to look forward to as her first full-length directorial debut feature, THE YEAR OF SPECTACULAR MEN is set to bow in cinemas this week. Maybe, just maybe, someone from Mt. Marvel will fall in love with Thompson's work behind the camera, and call her in for another meeting in which they'll speak about hatching a new HOWARD THE DUCK project.

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