Disney's Darkwing Duck revival is going ahead without the voice everyone wants

Oh, lovely, another day, another classic cartoon getting the reboot treatment – and not in a way that's likely to please the people who actually watched it the first time round. If you ever found yourself humming along to 'Let's get dangerous!' as a kid of the early '90s, then you'll know all about Darkwing Duck: Disney's slightly unhinged homage to pulp heroes, featuring ducks with capes, jetpacks, and the sort of pun-filled dialogue that only really lands if you were raised on Saturday morning telly. Now there’s that Disney reboot on the horizon, with Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg supposedly at the helm, but news just dropped that’s enough to make fans sigh: Jim Cummings, the original Darkwing himself, isn’t coming back for the ride.

Collider managed to pin down Cummings on the red carpet at the Coyote vs. Acme premiere, and asked the obvious question about whether he’d once again don the purple mask and play the “Terror That Flaps in the Night”. Turns out, don’t hold your breath.

Here’s how Cummings put it, speaking to Collider’s Aidan Kelly: '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.'

What Makes This One Sting

For those who need a refresher: Darkwing Duck started life as a tongue-in-cheek love letter to pulp comics, superhero farce and spy films, all set in St. Canard with Drake Mallard living a double life as a masked vigilante. Drake’s right-hand fowl was always Launchpad McQuack (that’s right, straight from DuckTales), and his daughter Gosalyn lent the show a bit of emotional backbone. The real appeal? The rogues’ gallery — the Fearsome Five, for those keeping score: NegaDuck, Bushroot, Megavolt, Quackerjack and Liquidator. Cummings voiced not just Darkwing, but quite a few villains as well… talk about range.

The first new Darkwing Duck revival in decades will replace both Jim Cummings and Terry McGovern, despite both actors being available.

In this reboot, it’s not only Cummings being left on the bench – Launchpad’s original voice, Terry McGovern, isn’t coming back either. Recasting Gosalyn is sadly unavoidable since Christine Cavanaugh passed away in 2014, but swapping out two perfectly healthy, available actors who helped define the original – that’s an odd call. Is it about attracting a younger crowd, money, or maybe just the industry’s eternal allergy to nostalgia that isn’t profitable on day one? Hard to say. But if you were holding out hope for that original cast reunion, you can file that under 'not happening' for now.

• Original star Jim Cummings is not returning as Darkwing Duck.
• Terry McGovern, the original Launchpad, is also being recast.
• Christine Cavanaugh (Gosalyn) sadly passed away in 2014, necessitating that recast.
• The reboot pilot was apparently made with Cummings, but Disney’s moving forward without him for the series proper.
• Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg are attached to shepherd the new version, but little else about casting or release has been locked in.