Because of how big Howard the Duck bombed in theaters way back in 1986, most fans were shocked, yet delighted, to see the talking mallard reappear at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy. And ever since then, there has been much speculation that Marvel and Disney are planning a standalone movie for the strange alien creature who refuses to wear any pants. Well, don't hold your breath. Even though Marvel announced three new mystery movies for 2020, all part of Phase 4, don't expect one of them to be a Howard the Duck reboot.

New York Comic Con is in full swing right now. And while it's nothing compared to SDCC, there are still red carpets and celebrities milling about, out to share their latest endeavors. IGN caught up with Seth Green, who voiced Howard in the Guardians of the Galaxy end credit sequence. He was asked if Howard the Duck was one of the movies Marvel had planned for 2020. All he could do was laugh it off. As he explains it, it'll never happen.

"Nobody has said anything to me about that. The truth is, Gunn and I are Buddies from Scooby-Doo. So, the whole Howard the Duck thing, and me getting to be that was a last minute, 'who do I know who is in town who can do this on this date before the color print delivers?' Nobody is thinking about a Howard the Duck movie (laughs). I love that people are running with it. But you know, it's not going to happen. The most I can imagine, and you can't quote me, because it's not based in fact, but the most I can imagine is that the character could cameo at some point in some other thing. Like, we saw Cosmo already. So there is going to be some kind of rocket offshoot, right? Some kind of outer galactic mayhem. You can imagine that Howard would cameo in that. But he'll never have a standalone movie again."

Even if that's the case, Seth Green is still a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. How does it feel to be associated with one of the hottest franchise properties around? As it turns out, the actor can't take his role in the MCU seriously, and says it's the equvilant of an inside joke you might share with a buddy, but this one has been shared with people everywhere.

"It doesn't feel like part of that thing. It's almost like a joke that I had with a buddy. But now, everyone else has gotten to hear it. It's still no less than a joke."

While Marvel and Disney might not give Howard his own standalone movie, its doubtful that we've seen the last of him. His Guardians of the Galaxy cameo was so popular, Marvel brought the character back in his own brand new comic book series. And just last week, Marvel boss Kevin Feige hinted that Howard could get his own Marvel One Shot at some point in the near future. He had this to say.

"We talk about that a lot actually, because when you have tables like that (lots of potential story lines, most unexplored in the finished film), and we go, What are we going to do with Howard [the Duck]? What are we going to do with Cosmo? We should do a one shot with Michael Pena. I mean, the universe is big. We're moving up to three movies a year and I'm not sure how much beyond that we can go so the one shots are great for: 'oh we have this great idea, wouldn't it be fun to see...We talk about it a lot. We're a relatively small team. We're comfortable doing three movies a year so it's just about finding the time and the place. But we have a backlog of ideas."

So, there you go. Don't count Howard down just yet. He'll likely return soon. And Seth Green will probably be one of the last to know it's actually happening, since he has such a loose relationship with the studio. If anything, we can probably expect Howard to show up in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 for a cameo. But then again, director James Gunn doesn't sound like he wants to repeat himself.