Surely we all know by now that Howard the Duck is one of the greatest bad movies ever made. A certifiable gem in the “so-bad-it’s-good” repertoire, this notorious 1986 box office flop from Lucasfilm Ltd. has long been considered a misunderstood cult classic. As far as Marvel Comics adaptations go, it’s a far cry from your Avengers, Thor or Iron Man series. Or is it…?
Now, before we go denying reality, let’s make one thing clear: Howard the Duck is a bad movie (in a gloriously perfect kind of way, of course). Still, for a movie about a hipster alien talking duck, it could have been a lot worse. I mean, who could forget the famous “wallet” scene, where, in a span of thirty seconds, our emotional experience varies from that of warm poignancy to eye-roll-inducing corniness to full-blown creeped out mode? Obviously, there’s something to this movie that warrants a second look. How else can you explain the tease-laden comments from Avengers director Joss Whedon during a recent interview with Yahoo! Movies? Although likely answered in jest, when asked which Marvel Comics character he would like to work on for a movie, post-Avengers, he blew our minds with this: “I think it’s time for the Howard the Duck reboot that nobody expects.”
Okay, granted, the guy’s clearly clowning around here, but still…what if? Ah, those two simple words; “what if” indeed. All joking aside, just think of the possibilities… in a universe where we will soon have a realised Rocket Racoon, could a Howard be THAT hard to buy into? If one man could do it, it’s Joss Whedon. Or maybe not.
There, now that you’ve finished daydreaming, let’s take a walk down memory lane with this memorable scene from Howard the Duck:
Thanks to Ronald over at BoxOfficeBuz for the story
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