Fans of fantasy and sci-fi the world over almost lost out on the legend that George Lucas became as the creator of Star Wars and all the success he went on to have as a filmmaker. That’s because he almost became a professional race car driver until a serious accident caused him to go into filmmaking instead. Thankfully, it all worked out, and he became an icon for sci-fi geeks everywhere. By the ’80s, Lucas had already established himself with the enormous success of the first two Star Wars films and Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Those three films alone instantly propelled him to iconic status and made him one of the most famous filmmakers in the world. Around that time, back in the mid-’80s, Marvel had already begun venturing into film and television projects for some of its most famous characters, like Hulk and Spider-Man. Far from the monumental success the MCU enjoys today, Marvel’s live-action projects back then were far less prestigious than they are now.
At the height of his fame, George Lucas had a chance to change this. By having the opportunity to make a film based on a Marvel character, his name alone had the power to heighten the fame and popularity of any character he chose. Rather than choosing one of Marvel’s mainstream heroes like Captain America or Spider-Man, George Lucas was the executive producer for the live-action film Howard the Duck instead. Here’s a look back at why he made such an odd choice.
Who Is Howard The Duck, and When Did He First Appear?
While the MCU has made household names out of many Marvel characters now, even ones that weren’t that well known outside of comic book fans, many people may still not know about one of Marvel’s more obscure characters. Created between writer Steve Gerber and artist Val Mayerik, Howard the Duck is a Marvel character who is an anthropomorphic duck. His first appearance came back in 1973 in Adventure into Fear #19.
An inhabitant of “Duckworld,” an extra-dimensional planet where ducks can walk, talk, and do most things humans do, Howard is caught up in a dimensional shift and winds up on Earth. Now a resident of Cleveland, with his sarcastic personality in tow, he soon begins getting into all kinds of adventures. With plenty of scope for whimsy and comedy, the character soon earned a cult following.
Despite Howard being an experimental character and one that was meant to be satire since he did things like break the fourth wall, his comic exploits also earned acclaim. By poking fun at everything from politics to observations of human behavior but doing so with a darker philosophical undercurrent, the character, and his creators were praised for both its quirky humor and astute themes.
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Lucas Actually Liked Howard the Duck and Was Fascinated By Him
By the mid-’80s, George Lucas was already a four-time Academy Award-nominated filmmaker. More significant was the cultural impact his most famous films had made by then. Giving birth to movie dynasties, his films, like the original Star Wars trilogy and the first Indiana Jones, have been icons of pop culture ever since and have franchises that are still going strong today.
Around the same time, the satirical humor and clever underpinnings that brought Howard the Duck comics success earned them a famous fan in the form of George Lucas. Fresh off his fame from Star Wars, Lucas was also looking for a project that intrigued and fascinated him. Howard seemed to provide the perfect answer since he was less serious and not as intense as the epic nature of his space opera masterpiece Star Wars films.
Howard the Duck’s Quirkiness Made Him Offbeat and More Appealing
At the time that George Lucas chose to make Howard the Duck, he could have commanded any Marvel character he wanted to make a film about, or any other superhero, for that matter. However, for Lucas, Howard’s quirks and irreverent style were all characteristics that made him more interesting. Given everything from his alien background, weird appearance, and brash traits at times, Howard was as wonky as any of the characters depicted in the famous Cantina scene from Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.
This was more appealing to Lucas back then since the character was almost more of an alien than most mainstream heroes. Given that a Howard the Duck film also presented him with unique special effects challenges, knowing now just how brilliant and dynamic the mind of George Lucas is, it’s easy to understand why this added to the film’s charm for him.
Did George Lucas Regret Not Being Involved in More Marvel Experiences?
George Lucas was already an icon when he made Howard the Duck. His propensity for picking winners likely made him see the potential in making a film about an unconventional character. Back then, comic book films weren’t as well established as they are now, proving he was ahead of his time. Given the position Lucas found himself in, he could have easily sparked off the pop culture frenzy that the MCU did decades before it ever began.
Had he selected a more mainstream Marvel character and dedicated time, attention to detail, and the kind of special effects wizardry he managed for Howard the Duck, there could have been an MCU long ago, with Lucas as the pioneer of it all. Sadly, the project he did choose wound up being one of the biggest stains on his fantastic legacy. A critical and commercial failure, Howard the Duck was widely panned and often labeled a terrible movie because of its unconventional main character.
Is It Time for George Lucas to Return to Star Wars?
Fans want the controversial creator back in his legendary universe. But is George Lucas really the best for Star Wars?
Despite this, there’s no indication that he ever wholly regretted making Howard the Duck. Instead, Lucas told The Telegraph he wished he had chosen a different director for the film instead of Willard Huyck.
My greatest regret in my career is that John [Landis] was unable to direct Howard the Duck. I feel the movie would have been far more successful and saved me the years of hardship following its release.
Despite the infamous history of George Lucas’s Howard the Duck film, it’s never stopped him from becoming one of the most beloved filmmakers in history. Still legendary on his own, although he ended up selling LucasFilm to Disney, it was so he could spend more time with his family, so it all worked out for him. Howard the Duck may have been a failure, but it would still have been great to see what a mainstream Marvel movie by Lucas would have been like during the height of his fame from Star Wars. Howard the Duck is streaming now on Tubi.
