Director Joe Russo has revealed what led to the inclusion of Howard the Duck in Avengers: Endgame. The film is of course the latest big screen release from Marvel, serving as the culmination of the last decade of movies that began with 2008’s Iron Man. With the world is mourning for all those lost as a result of Thanos’ infamous snap, the remaining heroes decide to try and undo the devastation…whatever it takes. With hope seeming lost in the face of overwhelming odds, Captain America and his team find themselves aided by a whole host of familiar faces. That includes, most surprisingly, a cameo from Howard the Duck in Avengers: Endgame.

Howard was actually one of the first Marvel characters to be adapted for the big screen. Produced by Lucasfilm, Howard the Duck was released in 1986. Unfortunately, the result was less than great. Although it has since developed a cult following, the film was deemed a laughable failure. Luckily for fans, the character was eventually done justice in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. His latest cameo comes alongside other heroes as they arrive on Earth to help The Avengers. Armed with a machine gun, Howard can briefly be seen throwing himself into the action. The appearance has since led to speculation regarding what happened to Howard that led him to take up arms against Thanos. Unfortunately, Russo was unable to offer any details regarding Howard’s motivations. He was, however, more than willing to share just how exactly the cameo came about in the first place.

During a live Q&A event with ComicBook, the director discussed a whole range of topics regarding the latest superhero blockbuster. One of the questions that arose was what led to Howard the Duck’s inclusion. “It was one of the last things we did,” Russo revealed. “We were sitting at VFX, and I was watching that shot of everyone coming out of the portals, and I was like, god it would be so awesome to have a Howard the Duck cameo here. And I said to the VFX team, is there anyway in hell you could pull this off?” Though the cameo was caught by only the most eagle-eyed of fans, the inclusion has indeed been considered awesome, widely praised as yet another successful achievement in unifying the various corners of the MCU.

The big screen isn’t the only place fans will be able to see Howard the Duck in the near future. Hulu previously announced a new batch of animated shows that’ll take place in the same shared universe and build towards a crossover event, The Offenders. As well as Howard the Duck, the series will also feature the characters of M.O.D.O.K, Tigra, and Dazzler. Like most of the Marvel shows airing on Hulu and otherwise, their connection to the MCU will be minimal at best.

What the future holds next for Howard the Duck within the MCU itself remains to be seen. Following the defeat of Thanos, it could very well be that he opted to return home. Then again, maybe he opted to venture to the pleasure world of Contraxia alongside The Ravagers. He may even decided to stick around and explore everything that Earth has to offer. Whatever the case, there will no doubt be Easter eggs documenting his subsequent exploits. And he will assuredly crop up again in one of the future phases. If not in his own standalone film or series then definitely as another cameo in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 or when the universe next needs to unite against major threat. In the meantime, his brief moment of glory in Avengers: Endgame remains for all to enjoy.

More: 10 MCU Team-Ups We Want To See After Avengers: Endgame

Source: ComicBook

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