One of the biggest problems in fanboy culture is making a mountain out of a molehill. Minute details are poured over for hours on end, even though they really have very little bearing on the overall grand scheme of things. Hype runs wild for things people are "certain they'll love," even though they haven't seen it yet, and vice versa with how badly something is going to suck when once again, they've yet to watch it for themselves to make a proper determination. And when it comes to things that we've gotten the tiniest taste of, suddenly it becomes this huge thing that somehow should happen, whether or not it even makes sense.
Case in point: Howard the Duck.
No one has been asking to see another Howard the Duck movie ever since the live-action disaster of 1986. Very few have fond memories of that film, and, since then, Howard the Duck has been more an answer to trivia questions than a candidate for another feature.
And then he shows up in the post-credits stinger of GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, and immediately interest in Howard the Duck goes from 0 to 60 in all of two seconds. How does Howard the Duck slot into the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Is Howard the Duck going to be a part of Phase Three or Phase Four of the MCU? Will Lea Thompson come back to reprise her role as Beverly?
And yet the more fans' imaginations run wild, the more ridiculous the notion of a solo Howard the Duck movie within the MCU sounds. And with a few untitled Marvel films being added to the calendar in the coming years, it's all been ratcheted up in the last 24 hours.
In fact, it's gotten to such a level that even Seth Green, who voiced Howard the Duck at the end of GUARDIANS, felt the need to speak up and tell everyone to chill out.
Nobody has said anything to me about that. The truth is, [director James] Gunn and I are buddies from Scooby-Doo. So, the whole Howard the Duck thing, and me getting to be that was a last minute, 'who do I know who is in town who can do this on this date before the color print delivers?'
Nobody is thinking about a Howard the Duck movie. I love that people are running with it. But you know, it's not going to happen. The most I can imagine, and you can't quote me, because it's not based in fact, but the most I can imagine is that the character could cameo at some point in some other thing. Like, we saw Cosmo already.
So there is going to be some kind of Rocket offshoot, right? Some kind of outer galactic mayhem. You can imagine that Howard would cameo in that. But he'll never have a standalone movie again. It doesn't feel like part of that thing. It's almost like a joke that I had with a buddy. But now, everyone else has gotten to hear it. It's still no less than a joke.
Yes, he is pooping on the party, and he is laughing at some of you. Howard the Duck isn't happening, so just let it go and start making some realistic guesses about those untitled Marvel flicks and what they could be. It's better that way.