Star director George Lucas still regretted a decision years later that he made regarding the cult film “Howard, the Duck.”
In 2014, director George Lucas reflected on his career in a retrospective by The Telegraph.
He also discussed the film Howard, the Duck from 1986, in which he served as a producer.
However, the director still regretted one decision years later. In his opinion, Howard, the Duck could have been even more successful if a key aspect had been different.
Here is a trailer for Howard, the Duck:
What did George Lucas regret? George Lucas regretted not a creative decision or casting, but the choice of director.
“What I regret most in my career is that John [Landis] was not able to direct Howard the Duck,” said George Lucas.
He further expressed that the film had more potential in his eyes: “I feel that the film would have been much more successful and would have spared me years of hardship after its release.”
In hindsight, George Lucas would have liked to have seen John Landis instead of Willard Huyck in the director’s chair for Howard, the Duck.
What kind of film is Howard the Duck? It is a comedy. The basis is a Marvel comic featuring a rough duck as the main character who suddenly arrives on Earth from his home Duckworld. There, he saves Beverly … and falls in love with her. Together, they must stop the destruction of the world.
Howard, the Duck is regarded as one of the biggest failures from Lucasfilm. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film fares accordingly poorly:
- 13 % Tomatometer
- 38 % Audience Score
You can read more about the comic adaptation here from our colleagues at Moviepilot: The Ambitious Flops of Lucasfilm
Many viewers, for instance, found the talking duck more bizarre than likable. This was compounded by a poor script and inadequate special effects. Yet, despite—or perhaps because of—the film’s absurdity and eccentricity, Howard, the Duck fascinates audiences today and has garnered cult status as a bad but entertaining film. You can find more about the famous director here: George Lucas deleted a scene from Star Wars that would have shown the origins of the Rebels
