Howard the Duck 80s Movie Getting 4K Release

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The cult classic 80s movie, Howard The Duck, is getting a special 4K re-release this July to mark its 35th anniversary. The science-fiction comedy starring Lea Thompson was a huge box-office flop when it was first released in 1986, winning four Razzie awards and quickly earning a reputation as one of the worst films of all time. Howard The Duck is a sobering reminder of what Marvel movies used to look like long before the epic age of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the film yielded some positives –most significantly, it inadvertently led to the creation of Pixar.

Though the film originally fell flat with both critics and audiences, it has since gained a huge cult following. No matter how badly Marvel may want to forget their humble beginnings, Howard The Duck has somewhat haunted the studio in recent years. Back in 2014, James Gunn infamously gave Howard a cameo in Guardians Of The Galaxy’s final post-credit scene, which actually had a hand in setting up the MCU’s multiverse long before WandaVision or Doctor Strange. Howard most recently had a very brief cameo in Avengers: Endgame, and was even set to have his own animated series before Hulu axed development in early 2020.

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RELATED: Endgame Officially Makes Howard The Duck An AVENGER

Howard The Duck’s presence in the MCU is a clear sign of how much Marvel fans love – and sometimes love to hate - one of the comic book franchise’s most obscure characters. Now, long-time Howard The Duck fans are being rewarded with a 4K release of the original 1986 film that appears set to be released by Universal in July. Dawn Of The Discs announced the release on Twitter, including the original poster for the cult comedy. Check out the tweet below:

The 1986 film was produced by Lucasfilm and Universal Pictures and directed by Willard Huyck. It follows the titular Howard as he is beamed from his home planet, Duckworld, onto Earth, where he saves a woman named Beverly (Thompson) from being mugged and must face off against the “Dark Overlord of the Universe.” The movie was notoriously much darker than the trailers advertised despite its PG rating. In retrospect, however, the commercial and critical failure of Howard The Duck only seemed to fit the character’s offbeat attitude.

Cult film fans and Marvel completionists will no doubt be pleased to see the film get a special release, though it’s possible the Howard animatronic may look even more terrifying in 4K. His animated series may have been canceled and his future in the MCU may be a mystery, but at least Howard The Duck fans can look forward to enjoying the original movie in a whole new way.