A 'Howard The Duck' remake has to happen

By Fusion Staff | August 1, 2014 | 6:35pm

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Marvel has trained its moviegoers to sit through minutes of countless names of the cast and crew scrolling down the screen before being treated to a post-credits sequence. Whoever was able to catch a late night showing of Marvel’s latest film “Guardian’s of the Galaxy” may have also caught a glimpse of what Marvel is planning next. **SPOILER ALERT** There is a sequence featuring The Collector (as first scene in the Thor: Dark World post-credits sequence) joined by none other than our favorite comic book duck…Howard the Duck. In 1986, Marvel blessed us with the classic “Howard the Duck” film and if you took anything away from the movie, you knew what the 80s were all about.

Fans have had mixed reactions to the post-credits sequence. Moviegoers are wondering if it’s just a nod to the loveable character or a hint that a reboot could be coming. Should the movie be remade? Let’s try be positive. Here are four reasons why a “Howard the Duck” reboot is a great idea.

Marvel believes in second chances:

The team over at Marvel seem to be perfectionists. They keep re-creating (or in Hollywood terms “re-imagining”) the same films until they get it right. Marvel probably wanted to take their time until a “Howard the Duck” script was perfect and had to wait for it’s audience to be mature enough to accept a talking duck that is trapped in a world of humans. Let’s take a look back at other Marvel films that received a second chance.

– Before we had Chris Evans running around fighting the Red Skull and the Winter Soldier we had…Matt Salinger. The first Captain America film was released in 1990. It was filled with bad dialogue, low budget effects and terrible fight sequences. Marvel decided to give the character another shot at the big screen in 2011. After its release most people have forgotten about the mistake that took place in 1990.

– In 2002 the highly successful Spider-Man film was released starring Tobey Maguire. Even though the trilogy has over $2.5 billion worldwide, Marvel decided to wait five years for a reboot. Now it is part of a bigger plan in the Marvel universe. “The Amazing Spider-Man” has spawned several sequels and spin-offs that are planned to be released until 2018.

– “Hulk” hit Hollywood in 2003 directed by action film director, Ang Lee. The film received mixed reviews by fans of the comic starring the big green monster with anger issues. In 2008 we saw a return of Bruce Banner and his angry alter ego played by Edward Norton. Fans were more pleased with this version. Not only was it a better film but it was a piece to a bigger puzzle in the Marvel universe.

– In 1989 “The Punisher” was released in theaters starring everyone’s favorite Swede, Dolph Lundgren. This film didn’t perform as well as hoped. Thomas Jane took over the role of Frank Castle in a Punisher reboot in 2004. Even though it had a boost in star power with John Travolta playing the adversary, the film was also unsuccessful. Marvel decided to give it one more shot. They followed up by releasing “The Punisher: War Zone” in 2008 with Ray Stevenson. After this film tanked, it seems like Marvel gave up on the franchise.

Given that “Howard the Duck” has had over 28 years break from Hollywood we can only assume that Marvel will get the film right. They could take a very different approach from the 80s film and lace it with adult humor and release it for a more mature audience.

<1>We have to look at the bigger picture:
Everything in the Marvel Universe is connected somehow. We’ve learned to be less critical and take a step back and see what Marvel has in store for their fans. It will certainly require some patience. There are films slated to be released up until 2018.

We may see The Hulk and Howard the Duck fighting side-by-side in an upcoming movie. Whatever we see, Marvel will create a story that makes sense.

It’s perfect timing for a satirical comic movie:

In the comic book, Howard hails from a world composed entirely of ducks. Howard’s world and our world share one thing in common. We have the same celebrities. The only difference is Howard’s world has poultry inspired names.

Imagine all of the celebrities we may see in an upcoming film. Bok Bok Obama (Barack Obama), Justin Beaker (Justin Bieber), Polly Cyrus (Miley Cyrus), Chicky Minaj (Nicki Minaj) and Drake (no change necessary).

The 80s are so in right now:

It seems like Hollywood has been digging in the crates for film ideas and looking back to the 80s. That’s clear with the reboots of Robocop, Red Dawn, Clash of the Titans, The Karate Kid, Nightmare on Elm Street and Footloose (as referenced many times in Guardians of the Galaxy).

One good thing could certainly come from a “Howard the Duck” remake…a new theme song. Do you remember the 80s sounding Howard the Duck post-credit song? Well, imagine a remake with your favorite rapper laced with the most inappropriate lyrics. That’s something we all could look forward to.

@fusion