Marvel's Howard the Duck and Tigra & Dazzler series are officially done, as the media giant cancels both shows before making it to screen. Howard the Duck is one of Marvel Comics' most irreverent characters and made his debut in the '70s. He's been portrayed on the big screen several times before, starring in 1986's Howard the Duck film with Lea Thompson. Howard also featured in both Guardians of the Galaxy movies and briefly in Avengers: Endgame. Seth Green voices the character in the MCU.
Meanwhile, Tigra and Dazzler are two Marvel characters who haven't shared the screen before, making a potential series noteworthy. Dazzler is a member of the X-Men, with Halston Sage briefly playing the singer in X-Men: Dark Phoenix. Dazzler has also appeared in several other animated series over the years. Tigra, who made her comic debut under the name "The Cat" in the early 1970s, has been portrayed less often in other forms of media. So far, she's only appeared on TV in the short-lived series, The Avengers: United They Stand. However, like Dazzler, Tigra has played a role in several Marvel video games.
Per Variety, both Howard the Duck and Tigra & Dazzler are no longer in development at Marvel. However, two other animated series in the works for Hulu, M.O.D.O.K. and Hit-Monkey, are moving along as planned. All four series were expected to team up for The Offenders, in a concept similar to what Marvel's now-canceled Netflix shows did in The Defenders. However, with this news, that event is no longer happening, either.
An overall deal with Marvel TV and Hulu was announced a little over a year ago, with all four shows, as well as The Offenders, revealed at once. Kevin Smith and David Willis were working on Howard the Duck, with comedian Chelsea Handler and Erica Rivinoja originally teaming up for Tigra & Dazzler. However, the latter show has been fraught with behind-the-scenes complications: late last year, Marvel fired Rivinoja and her writing staff, citing creative differences. Even more notably, sources said they were well into the show's production schedule at the time, with several scripts already finished.
The cancellations of Howard the Duck and Tigra & Dazzler illustrate how Marvel TV is moving away from working with other streamers and networks in favor of putting its content on its parent company's streaming service, Disney+. Though Hulu is also majority-owned by Disney, it doesn't have the immediate connection that Disney+ does. In this case, Marvel made the decision to stop development on the two new shows. However, in the case of The Defenders series, including Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and others, Netflix decided to cancel, blindsiding Marvel in the process. Though fans of Howard the Duck and Tigra & Dazzler are probably sad to hear that neither series will make it to screen at this time, that doesn't mean it won't happen at some point in the future.
Source: Variety