Darkwing Duck Returns After 35 Years: Disney+ Greenlights Revival Starring Mark Hamill

Disney+ has officially greenlit a new Darkwing Duck animated series that will serve as a direct continuation of the classic 1990s cartoon. Legendary actor Mark Hamill will voice the hero, superhero duck Drake Mallard, The Hollywood Reporter says. For fans of classic Disney animation, it’s a long-awaited comeback: the project doesn’t reboot the universe from scratch but continues the timeline of the original series, accounting for the three and a half decades that have passed in the real world.

The plot hinges on a time paradox: Darkwing Duck has spent the past 35 years in a parallel dimension where no one has heard of his superhero feats. His quiet life is upended by the arrival of a teenage girl named Ducky — a rebel who knows Mallard’s secret and drags the forgotten crime fighter back into a string of battles against evil.

Old Enemies and a Star-Studded Cast

Nearly all the key characters from the show’s golden era are returning, according to Variety. Viewers will see loyal pilot Launchpad McQuack, the hero’s adopted daughter Gosalyn Waddlemeyer, the sorceress Morgana, and cult-favorite supervillains Negaduck and Megavolt.

The new voice cast brings together well-known Hollywood actors:

• Comedian Seth Rogen will voice Launchpad McQuack;
• Lizzy Caplan (Masters of Sex) will voice the grown-up Gosalyn;
• Lilimar (Bella and the Bulldogs) will play the young rebel Ducky;
• Mark Hamill, who has decades of iconic voice work as the Joker in the DC animated universe behind him, will take on the role of Darkwing Duck himself.

The Team Behind The Boys and the Creator of the Original Show

The revival is being produced by Point Grey Pictures, led by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg — the duo behind the successful adaptations of The Boys, Invincible and the animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. Sean Tretta (12 Monkeys, Mayans M.C.) and animator Borja Peña Gorostegui have signed on as showrunners.

In a key move to preserve the spirit of the franchise, Tad Stones — creator of the original 1991 Darkwing Duck — has joined the project as a creative consultant, Deadline reports. The studio has not yet revealed a premiere date or the exact episode count, as the project is in the early stages of animation production.