The original Mighty Ducks movie star Emilio Estevez will be returning in a lead role for Disney's sequel series for Disney+. According to a new report from The Illuminerdi, Estevez will be reprising the role of Coach Gordon Bombay for all ten episodes of the half-hour series, linking the new show to the original movie trilogy. Better yet, Estevez will be one of the series leads, meaning he's going to play a prominent role in the story and won't be delegated to sparse cameos throughout the season. Mighty Ducks fans, it's now safe to start getting excited!
The Mighty Ducks Disney+ TV Series will follow a 13-year-old boy and his mother looking to start their own hockey team after he is kicked off the local Mighty Ducks junior division. They're tasked with looking for players and a place to play, and they also have the challenge of finding a new coach. Of course, given today's news of Emilio Estevez being involved, it now seems apparent that Gordon Bombay will be that coach, stepping back up to coach a young team of Mighty Ducks once again after having a very successful go at it in the 1990's.
Casting information has yet to be confirmed for the other cast members, but some brief character descriptions give us some hints about the younger characters who'll be appearing on The Mighty Ducks series. This includes Nick, a shy kid who always plays video games; Nick, who likes to pretend his has his own imaginary TV show; Mary, described as the popular girl both on the team and at school; and Lauren, a social outcast who "likes to wear wings and a cape at school and pretend she's a fairy magician." So far, it sounds like we've got the perfect set of young adults to form the new Mighty Ducks.
Released in 1992, the original Mighty Ducks movie starred Estevez as Gordon Bombay, an attorney who's arrested for DUI and ordered to coach a youth hockey team as a part of his court-ordered community service. Bombay takes to it, and reassembles his old Ducks in a 1994 sequel to form Team USA and represent the United States in the Junior Goodwill Games. A third and final movie, released in 1996, sees Bombay pass off his coaching responsibilities to someone new, though Estevez is still featured prominently in the sequel. What the former Mighty Ducks coach has been up to in the years since has remained a mystery, but we'll finally find out when we check back in with him for the upcoming Mighty Ducks series.
Production on the project is set to begin this March in Vancouver with a wrap planned for July, and no release date on Disney+ has yet been set. James Griffiths (Cuban Fury) will direct all ten episodes of The Mighty Ducks series, with original trilogy screenwriter Steven Brill and producer Jordan Kerner also on board. Alongside Brill, Josh Goldsmith, Cathy Yuspa, George Heller, and Brad Patrigala executive produce. This news was first reported by The Illuminderdi.