The infamous Howard the Duck is set to get an in-depth documentary this Fall

One of the biggest flops of the 1980s is getting a feature-length documentary. Back in 1986, Howard the Duck was such a box office disaster that it might have cost Universal production head Frank Price his job, and it single-handedly dispelled the notion that George Lucas was infallible as far as his projects went. On a massive budget of over $30 million (the same amount Return of the Jedi cost), the movie only grossed $38 million worldwide, and swept the year’s Razzies. Yet, it has an essential place in the pop culture as the first theatrical adaptation of a Marvel Comics character ever to hit the big screen, and it remains a nostalgic favourite of many folks who grew up in the era (including the writer of this article).

Now, Anchor Bay Entertainment has acquired  Howard the Doc or: How I Learned to Start Quacking and Love the Bomb, a feature-length deep dive into the making (and unmaking) of the box office bomb turned cult classic. Directed by Ernesto Trinidad, this doc aims to re-examine a movie that’s all too often dismissed as a flop. With home video and cable airings included, it likely turned a solid profit for the studio and has remained one of Universal’s more popular catalogue titles (we also did a much-viewed WTF episode on it’s making). Here’s part of the press release:

“Featuring exclusive new interviews with key cast members, the film reunites audiences with Lea Thompson, the beloved star of the Back to the Future trilogy and one of the most iconic leading women of the 1980s, and Jeffrey Jones, the celebrated character actor known for unforgettable roles in pop culture staples like Beetlejuice and Sleepy Hollow. Also featured is Ed Gale, whose physical performance as Howard made the character’s performance on-screen possible. The documentary further includes insights from legendary visual effects supervisor Phil Tippett, whose groundbreaking work includes Star Wars, Jurassic Park, and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. These firsthand accounts offer fresh insight into the movie’s radical creative vision, on-set experiences, and enduring legacy. Together, they help paint a revealing portrait of a film that, despite early skepticism, carved out a lasting place in the canon of comic book cinema.”

The Howard the Duck documentary is set to hit theaters this fall. I can’t wait to see this, and I hope they focus on some of the things that really work in the film, such as John Barry’s score, and the terrific songs by Thomas Dolby, which Thompson sings in the movie. The inclusion of Jones among the interviewees might prove to be controversial for some (here’s why), but it would be hard to do a legit doc about the movie without him. I wonder if George Lucas is going to weigh in on one of his biggest flops (but not the only one, with Radioland Murders, which has the same writers as Howard the Duck, another fiasco). 

Check out the poster:

Are you excited to see this Howard the Duck deep dive? Let us know in the comments!

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