Warning: SPOILERS ahead for The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers episode 6, "Spirit of the Ducks."
The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers honored some of the original youth hockey players featured in the original film trilogy, but Joshua Jackson's Charlie Conway was noticeably missing. The reunion of team members and Coach Gordon Bombay (Emilio Estevez) was teased weeks ahead of the special sixth episode of the Disney+ series. Based on the popularity surrounding The Mighty Ducks movie trilogy from the '90s, it felt inevitable the spinoff would feature some familiar faces. However, fans of Charlie might have to wait a bit longer.
Throughout the three Mighty Ducks movie installments, Charlie served as the team's leader in more than one way. Despite being the most skilled on the ice, Charlie was a selfless individual, putting the team's needs above his own. Though the Ducks played better when he was on the ice, Charlie once benched himself to give his spot to a teammate. Like the rest of the original team in the debut movie, Charlie was skeptical about Coach Bombay, but he turned out to be the one to convince the man that coaching the team could be beneficial for all. By D3: The Mighty Ducks, Charlie experienced some behavioral issues without Bombay leading his new team, but the coach's life lessons remained with the teen.
When Game Changers announced a forthcoming reunion featuring original Ducks, there was hope Jackson would be among the returnees. Not only was he the team's captain, but he was the heart and soul of the Ducks at the focus of the trilogy. Charlie doesn't appear in episode 6 for "The Spirit of the Ducks Gala." The past players who cameo included Fulton Reed (Elden Henson), Lester Averman (Matt Doherty), Adam Banks (Vincent LaRusso), Connie Moreau (Marguerite Moreau), Guy Germaine (Garrette Henson), and Ken Wu (Justin Wong). They excitedly reunited with Bombay before giving their coach an update on what happened to the Mighty Ducks team since the '90s. After asking about Charlie, the group gives their former leader the harsh truth.
When questioning Bombay's continued distance in terms of connecting with his old team, Fulton stated: "Don’t tell me Charlie was right...about you." Fulton then unveils the reason for Charlie's absence, proclaiming: "He didn’t come because he said it’s not like you’ve been showing up for us lately, so why should he show up?" Essentially, Bombay didn't make an effort to keep up with the Ducks, specifically Charlie, who viewed him as a father figure. Seeing as Bombay made no effort, Charlie felt it was unnecessary to attend the gala.
From a story perspective, Charlie's spiteful reluctance to return for a Ducks event was justifiable. Granted, the Mighty Ducks reunion took a month to film because of the intense COVID-19 protocols. When asked about notable absences, Estevez explained (via USA Today), "it was just impossible to coordinate everybody's schedules and bring Kenan [Thompson] and Josh [Jackson]." Rather than leave Charlie's absence ambiguous, Game Changers made the move to write it into the plot as an open-ended conflict.
Interestingly, Estevez also added, "the door is always open for any of the original Ducks," which indicated Jackson and other former co-stars could appear in The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers down the line. Seeing as Charlie lost faith in a man who he once looked up to, it seems likely Bombay will do something to make it up to the team captain. If the Disney+ series gets a season 2 renewal, it wouldn't be surprising to see Jackson added to the cast list.