‘Mighty Ducks’ TV Series in the Works

The Mighty Ducks are hitting the ice again, thanks to a new TV series based on the 1990s Disney franchise.

Sources told The Hollywood Reporter Monday that ABC Signature Studios is developing the project, which still does not have a network attached. However, ABC Signature Studios projects typically land on cable networks or streaming platforms. Another option is holding onto the project for Disney’s own upcoming streaming service.

Steven Brill, who wrote the original films, and producer Jordan Kerner, approached ABC Signature chief Tracy Underwood about turning The Mighty Ducks into a TV series, according to THR. After that, Underwood put the project in development and hired Brill to write the script.

ABC Signature hopes to put the project together with top acting talent before offering it to streaming services in 2018.

Brill has not finished the script and no actors are attached. It is not known if Brill plans on rebooting the franchise or following the continuing stories from the films.

THR‘s sources said that the project is in the very early stages, and is not going to debut soon.

The Mighty Ducks franchise holds a special place in the hearts of ’90s kids. The series kicked off with the 1992 film, which starred Emilio Estevez as Gordon Bombay, an attorney who has to coach a pee-wee hockey team after he is arrested for drunk driving. The film was a box office hit, taking in $50.7 million.

Estevez starred in the sequels, 1994’s D2: The Mighty Ducks and 1996’s D3: The Mighty Ducks. The franchise also spawned an animated TV series, which featured actual ducks playing hockey.

The Mighty Ducks also launched a real hockey team. Disney founded the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in 1993, but sold the team in 2005. Now called the Anaheim Ducks, the team won the Stanley Cup in 2007.

If Disney could coax Estevez to star in the series, it would be his first project for a major studio in several years. The 55-year-old has spent most of his time directing small indie projects, including 2017’s The Public and 2010’s The Way. Between 2012 and 2017, he did not appear in any films or TV shows.

Photo credit: Facebook / Disney