Why Robin Williams quit as the voice of Howard the Duck
Howard the Duck is a cult 1986 sci-fi movie about a duck from the planet Duckworld. Howard the Duck is actually a Marvel character, and the movie was executive produced by none other than Star Wars creator George Lucas. It had some big-name acting talent in it, too, including Tim Robbins.
And it almost had more: Robin Williams was originally going to voice Howard, but he saw the writing on the wall, realizing he couldn’t work within the boundaries imposed by Marvel and Lucasfilm on their once highly-anticipated project. Now, a new Hollywood Reporter interview with actor Chip Zien — who voiced the character after Williams quit — celebrating the movie’s 35th anniversary reveals why Williams left the job after a week.
According to Zien, Williams stepped away from the role because he was expected to voice scenes that had already been filmed. He had to match his dialogue to that of the duck, which was already committed to film. “What I was told was by the third day, Robin said, ‘I can’t do this. It is insane. I can’t get the rhythm of this. I am being confined. I am being handcuffed to match the flapping duck’s bill.'”
Robin Williams kissed Howard the Duck goodbye
Given Williams’ penchant for coming up with brilliant lines on the spot, trying to keep dialogue contained within the framework of Howard’s bill wasn’t worth the effort.
After that, Zien was called in to replace Williams. He’d signed on to play Howard for three films, but the movie tanked at the box office, earning just $5 million in its first weekend when the movie cost upwards of $45 million to make.
Needless to say, those sequels didn’t manifest.
However, there was a resurgence of interest in Howard the Duck after the character made a cameo appearance in a post-credit scene at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy, with the promise that “Howard the Duck will return.”
Though it’s unclear when and how fans might see the famous waterfowl on screen again, we can look back and wonder what could have been if Williams had stayed in the role.
Next. All the actors in House of the Dragon and who they're playing. dark
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h/t IGN