With the success of the Apple TV comedy The Studio, Rogen is having one of his best eras as an actor. He’s won four Emmys for the show, which he co-created, in addition to a Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice Award. However, Rogen is also an established producer behind such hits as The Boys, Invincible, and Pam & Tommy.
In an interview with ScreenRant‘s Ash Crossan on the Saturn Awards red carpet, Darkwing Duck star Jim Cummings gave an update on the upcoming reboot that Rogen is executive producing for Disney+. Cummings, the lead voice actor on the original Darkwing Duck, was asked about his reaction to the series returning and how it compares to the underappreciated early 1990s series. Read his remarks below:
Perhaps best-known for airing Saturday mornings on ABC, Darkwing Duck centered on the superhero alter ego of the regular suburban duck Drake Mallard. Helped by his sidekick, Launchpad McQuack, the superhero lives with his adopted daughter. Darkwing struggles to balance his hopes of fame with his desire to be a good father and a worthy hero.
Darkwing Duck ran for a total of 91 episodes, winning an Annie Award for Cummings’s vocal performance in the lead role. It was also nominated for an Annie Award in the Best Animated Television Program. It was well-received upon its debut, albeit the reputation of Darkwing Duck has only grown in the decades since, and it’s often held up as one of the best animated shows of its decade.
Although it’s lived on in comic book form and with some Ducktales continuations, a reboot of Darkwing Duck was first reported on in November 2020, with Rogen and Evan Goldberg serving as executive producers via their Point Grey Pictures production banner. Even though it was among the first projects to be announced for Disney+, which launched in November 2019.
The project is on a slower track, but it isn’t dead. Part of the issue is that there has been a creative reshuffling and a changing of the writers’ team. But it is confirmed that Cummings will return. Series creator Tad Stones, meanwhile, is involved as a consultant.
Rogen recently had success with bringing back The Muppets for Disney+. Compared to those iconic characters, a reboot of Darkwing Duck should be less of a daunting task. But even though it is relatively undersung, it seems from the latest comments that everyone involved wants to do right by Drake Mallard and his alter ego.