New Mighty Ducks Series Will Bring Back Original Cast For One Episode

Some of the original cast of The Mighty Ducks will appear in an episode of the new series, Game Changers, which premieres on Disney+ later this month. Entertainment Weekly reports that episode 6 will see characters from the original three movies reprise their roles as adults.

These characters include Elden Henson as Fulton, Vinny La Russo as Adam Banks, Matt Doherty as Averman, Marguerite Moreau as Connie, Garret Henson as Guy, and Justin Wong as Kenny Wu.

Mighty Ducks creator Steven Brill explained that these characters will have an "interesting run-in" with Coach Bombay (Emilio Estevez), who is a series regular for the new show.

"This chance meeting between Bombay and Fulton leads to a bigger story," according to Brill.

There will be a "Spirit of the Ducks" gala in the new show that honors the history of the Ducks, which is where the characters from the original movies show up.

Game Changers takes place 25 years after D3: The Mighty Ducks. At this point, the Ducks are no longer the scrappy underdogs but instead a powerhouse hockey institution. Bombay leads a new team of aspiring hockey players to defeat the Ducks, and probably learn some life lessons along the way.

Estevez told EW that Game Changers will still have "Disney magic," but it's also more grounded. "It leans into reality a little bit more than one would expect, which excited me," he said. "That's really like life; something that looks like a curveball that you couldn't hit ends up being something that's a gift later on."

Henson, who played one of the Bash Brothers knowing for his physical play, said it was "incredible" to fall back into the roll, and specifically his outfit. "It really hit me when we had the wardrobe fitting and they broke out the bandanas and the boots and the camouflage. It was so surreal and awesome," he said.

Joshua Jackson's Charlie was the main character of the original movies, but he's not among the returning characters confirmed for Game Changers, at least not yet. Brill said Charlie and Bombay aren't on speaking terms in the universe of Game Changers, which explains his absence. In reality, Jackson was "too busy" to appear in Game Changers, and the pandemic also played a part in his absence, but Brill said he's hopeful that Jackson makes an appearance down the road.

Kenan Thompson, who played Russ "Knuckle Puck" Tyler, is also not coming back for revival, but Estevez said he would like to see more cast members from the original Mighty Ducks films appear if there are more seasons of Game Changers.

Shaun Weiss, who played Goldberg the goalie in the original Mighty Ducks movies, is not involved in the new show either, it seems. Weiss struggled with meth and heroin addiction and lived on the streets for years before getting sober in 2020.

Game Changers premieres March 26 on Disney+. In addition to Estevez, the show stars Gilmore Girls' Lauren Graham in a recurring role, along with a new cast of youngsters who make up the team.