James Gunn Dispels Rumors He’s Producing A ‘Howard The Duck’ Movie For Marvel

Guardians of the Galaxy franchise director James Gunn put to rest social media rumors this morning that he will produce a Howard the Duck movie for Marvel. The classic comic-book character is a favorite of Gunn’s, with Howard making cameos in both GOTG films.

But in regards to producing, Gunn tweeted today:

The Howard the Duck buzz raised its head after a fan asked Gunn on Twitter if the rumor was true that he’s producing a feature of the Marvel character. Gunn responded:

The 1986 Howard the Duck feature adaptation from Universal is notorious for being both a critical and box office bomb, produced by George Lucas and starring Tim Robbins and Lea Thompson. The movie cost a reported $37M and made that much back at the global box office. When production executive Frank Price left Universal in September 1986, he was pinned with the film’s failure. In his previous production chief stint at Columbia, Price wore the goat horns for putting E.T. into turnaround for the studio.

Gunn is a huge Howard the Duck fan, having collected every comic. In interviews, he has expressed how repulsed he was by the 1986 movie, specifically the character’s Caucasian eyelid prosthetic design. GOTG2 concept artist Ryan Lang created a new Howard the Duck design for his latest cameos, which harks back to the suited, cigar-smoking fowl’s original look from the comics.

Related stories

'Spider-Man: Homecoming' Hoping To Catch Opening In The $100M Vicinity

'Deadpool 2' Sets Actress Shioli Kutsuna In A Key Role

'Black Panther' Teaser Trailer: "What Do You Know About Wakanda?"

Get more from Deadline.com: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter