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George Lucas is one of the most influential filmmakers of all time, having defined the modern blockbuster with the success of Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises. However, such is his filmmaking prowess that even the rare duds he has produced in his prolific career have the capability of reshaping the cinematic landscape.
George Lucas produced 1986’s Howard the Duck (Credit: HBO).In 1986, Lucas delivered one of the biggest flops of his career when he produced Howard the Duck, an adaptation of the Marvel comics character of the same name. While the film’s disastrous performance at the time tarnished Lucas’ career, it benefitted the Star Wars and Marvel franchises in hindsight, and here is why.
George Lucas’ biggest flop proved to be a blessing for Star Wars and Marvel
After finding fame with his Star Wars franchise, George Lucas produced the superhero comedy film Howard the Duck. Based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, the film was released in August 1986 and emerged as a disaster, grossing $38 million against a reported budget of $37 million. (Box Office Mojo)
Howard the Duck was a box office disaster (Credit: Lucasfilm).On paper, the mastermind behind modern blockbusters producing a Marvel movie was a sure hit. However, in the 1980s, the superhero genre was hardly as established as today. Moreover, Lucas admitted in a later interview that the film lacked the necessary technology to execute a faithful comic book adaptation.
Howard the Duck was the first theatrically released Marvel movie and proved to be ahead of its time. Its failure put off studios from adapting Marvel characters until 1998’s Blade, which was followed by the success of X-Men and Spider-Man, ushering in the golden age of superhero movies.
On the other hand, Lucasfilm was in serious financial trouble during the 1980s, with Lucas reportedly selling some divisions of the studio to keep it afloat. Following the film’s failure, Lucas turned his attention to directing the Star Wars prequels, which were sure box-office hits. Thus, the failure of Howard the Duck is indirectly responsible for the new era of Star Wars and Marvel movies.
George Lucas admitted his biggest regret with Howard the Duck
George Lucas gained recognition for the 1973 coming-of-age movie American Graffiti, a major critical and commercial success. It was co-written by Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz, and Lucas. The trio reunited for Howard the Duck but its failure tarnished their careers. As a result, the film proved to be one of the biggest flops of Lucas’ career.
George Lucas wanted John Landis to direct Howard the Duck (Credit: Lucasfilm).During an interview, Lucas revealed the biggest regret he had from the film’s failure, admitting that he wanted filmmaker John Landis to direct the movie. Lucas said the following (via The Telegraph):
My greatest regret in my career is that John [Landis] was unable to direct ‘Howard the Duck.’ I feel the movie would have been far more successful and saved me the years of hardship following its release.
Given Landis’ work on An American Werewolf in London, a technically challenging film driven by its comedic elements, it is easy to understand why Lucas wanted him to direct Howard the Duck.
During an appearance at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2015, Lucas also attributed the film’s failure to the lack of technology that resulted in the titular character being created using suits and puppets. As a result, it is safe to say that tackling such a complicated project was difficult even for Lucas because of the limitations of the filmmaking medium at the time.
Howard the Duck can be rented on Amazon Prime Video.
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