Anyone else think that this might be kind of close to how an actual pitch goes when it comes to various movies? Howard the Duck was obviously one of the craziest movies based on a Marvel comic to ever be brought out but it was also one that managed to stand the test of time if that can be believed. Given the premise and the fact that so much of the movie just doesn’t make sense one would almost think that it was one of the many movies that people might want to forget. But then again, people are pretty good at turning off their logic circuits when it comes to enjoying a movie, sometimes, and doing so for this one felt mandatory in a big way since there was so much that didn’t really get a solid explanation. Likely as not the explanations would come in the comic book, though since a good part of what was in the comics didn’t make it into the movie a lot of people were left to guess at what was really going on. With the idea that Howard might be making a bit of a comeback however it’s not hard to reason that picking up his story and dusting it off would be a good idea, if only to remind people just who he is and why that’s important. After all, he has been seen in Marvel post credits at this point so it’s fair to say that the MCU might be thinking making use of him eventually.
How they would go about doing that however is a little intriguing but also a little confusing since a lot of his story feels like an acid trip that’s gone wrong and been put to paper. That might sound cynical and unkind but the reality is that Howard being a talking duck from a place called Duckworld is perhaps the only sane part of his entire story. Everything else that comes along is a serious ride into madness that only the unstable and loosest of minds could possibly follow without getting continually stuck on the details. Like it or not though Howard has been the kind of character that some folks have come to embrace for his quirks since he is kind of the outcast, not just because he’s a duck in a human world, but because he’s the type of character that just doesn’t appear to excel at anything and doesn’t care if he does or not. His story even makes it obvious that he’s a malcontent that doesn’t really fit in anywhere, or try to, and thereby sets himself apart from the rest of society. Making a pitch for this kind of character either took a lot of hustle and fast-talking or a willing ear that was ready to hear just about anything so long as it didn’t put them to sleep.
How many people would have loved to have been at the meeting where the idea for Howard the Duck was pitched? Ideas had to be running rampant as those in charge tried to figure out how to spin the story and make it into something that people would actually enjoy. Even after all was said and done however Howard’s movie didn’t exactly live up to whatever standards there were at the time as it was considered far more ridiculous than appealing to many. It certainly had its charms, and the duck nudity was, strange, but overall it feels as though a lot of people just didn’t know what to think about the movie and therefore kind of passed on it or decided to try and forget about it. The idea of Howard the Duck didn’t go away that quickly since on paper the story sounds just fine, but trying to come up with something that could match the crazed story on film definitely created a few challenges. If this same movie was brought up today there’s nothing to say that it would be dismissed out of hand, but there would likely be quite a few changes that would be made to make sure that the consistency of the movie was kept intact and the entire thing was at least a little more memorable.
At this point one can’t help but wonder if there might be tentative plans for a Howard the Duck movie in the works, and whether or not it would be more CGI than anything if it did come out, especially since CGI is the medium of choice these days. If it happens, or when it happens, one can guess that things might get even crazier than the initial movie since someone’s going to have to raise the bar or reset it since the first movie swung for the fences in a big way and kind of did a face plant halfway there.
