DARKWING DUCK is Back! Mark Hamill Leads Disney+’s New Animated Series and There's a First Look

It’s time to get dangerous again! Disney+ has officially greenlit a new Darkwing Duckanimated series, and Mark Hamill is stepping into the cape as the voice of Drake Mallard. We also have a first look, which is the image above.

The new show brings the cult-favorite Disney hero back with a wild premise, a great voice cast, and plenty of familiar characters joining the adventure.

Hamill, best known for the Star Wars franchise and his legendary voice work as The Joker, will be joined by Seth Rogen as Launchpad McQuack and Lizzy Caplan as Gosalyn Mallard.

The series comes from Sean Tretta (Star Trek: Picard) and Borja Peña Gorostegui (Lost & Crowned), who both serve as executive producers. Original Darkwing Duck creator Tad Stones also consulted on the development of the new series, giving the project a direct connection to the cartoon that started it all.

Disney Branded Television and Point Grey Pictures first began developing a return to Darkwing Duck back in 2020, and now the project is officially moving forward at Disney+.

The rest of the voice cast includes Lilimar (Inside Out 2) as Duckie, Dan Stevens (Onslaught) as Glade McTowers, Tiffany Shepis (Star Trek: Picard) as Rosa, Kathryn Newton (Avengers: Doomsday) as Firecracker, Teo Briones (Final Destination Bloodlines) as Timb, Tyler Dean Flores (Neon) as Pondsy, Katie Rich (Saturday Night Live) as Officer Shanks, and Nat Faxon (The Descendants) as Officer Webb.

The story finds Darkwing in a particularly brutal situation for a superhero with an ego his size. For the past 35 years, Drake Mallard has been trapped in an alternate world where nobody has heard of Darkwing Duck or any of his heroic exploits.

His chance to reclaim the spotlight arrives with Duckie, a rebellious teenager who somehow knows all about his past. She pulls Darkwing back into action, sending the pair on a universe-saving adventure that brings them face-to-face with classic villains Negaduck and Megavolt.

Darkwing will also reunite with Launchpad, Gosalyn, and Morgana as the group once again takes on the forces of evil. It sounds like the new series will have plenty for longtime fans while giving Darkwing a completely different situation to deal with.

Stones is excited about what the new creative team has cooked up, and he sees the character as the kind of hero who can keep being reinvented for new audiences:

“Like every other fan of the original show, I’m excited to see Darkwing getting dangerous again in a whole new series,” said Stones. The new creative team has certainly amped up the action and comedy without forgetting the Disney heart.

“This series places DW in the literary tradition of Robin Hood, Zorro, and Sherlock Holmes, heroes whose lore has been reinterpreted by multiple creators in multiple mediums. They explored the core of those characters by tossing them into new eras, new relationships, and even new universes. No matter when or where, Darkwing Duck will appear in a cloud of blue smoke to grab the spotlight.”

The original Darkwing Duck, produced by Disney Television Animation, ran for 91 episodes after premiering on Disney Channel. It later aired on ABC and entered syndication beginning in 1991. Its ABC run ended in 1993, while its original syndication run continued through 1995 before the series briefly returned from 1996 to 1997.

Darkwing also crossed into comics, appearing alongside characters from Bonkers, Goof Troop, and TaleSpin in Disney Afternoon’s Fun-Filled 1st Issue! in November 1994. More recently, Drake Mallard returned to television as part of the latest incarnation of DuckTales.

Jim Cummings is the orignal voice of the character, but he previously recently that he was no longer playing the masked hero in the new project.

He said: “I did a pilot for it several years ago, to see the viability of it coming back, and everybody went nuts. And they are bringing it back, and they’re hiring somebody else to do Terry McGovern’s role of Launchpad, and they’re hiring somebody else to be Darkwing Duck. I hope they get…everything they deserve. Crazy, I don’t know what to tell you.”

Putting Hamill in the lead role is a fun choice, especially considering just how much personality Darkwing demands. But, Cummings is Darkwing Duck!

Darkwing Duck is headed to Disney+, and after 35 years, the terror that flaps in the night is finally getting another series of his own.