Jim Cummings Won’t Return as Darkwing Duck in Seth Rogen’s Reboot: “I Don’t Know What to Tell You”

Nostalgic revivals have a funny way of stretching out for years before actually reaching audiences, with fans left piecing together scraps of information from social media posts and red carpet interviews rather than official announcements. Few projects have tested that patience quite as thoroughly as one particular Disney Afternoon classic that’s been in and out of development limbo since 2020.

That long, uncertain wait just took a genuinely surprising turn, delivered casually during a red carpet interview that had nothing to do with the show in question.

Jim Cummings says he will not return to voice Darkwing Duck in Seth Rogen’s ‘Darkwing Duck’ reboot series, revealing during an interview with Collider at the red carpet premiere of “Coyote vs. Acme” that Disney is moving forward with the project but hiring someone else for the lead role. Cummings explained, “They’re hiring somebody else to be Darkwing Duck. I hope they get…everything they deserve. Crazy, I don’t know what to tell you.”

According to Collider, Cummings detailed how he’d previously recorded a pilot for the reboot years ago specifically to gauge audience interest, and that the response was overwhelmingly enthusiastic. Despite that positive reception, the actor confirmed Disney is now recasting not just his role, but also the role of Launchpad McQuack, originally voiced by Terry McGovern, as the project moves forward without either original star.

This news marks a significant reversal from where things stood just months earlier. According to Bleeding Cool, Cummings had provided a much more optimistic update back in March 2026, telling ScreenRant that Seth Rogen remained actively involved in pushing the project forward and that the team had already “recorded basically one offshoot so far,” with Cummings describing the character’s return as “long overdue.”

That earlier update also revealed a notable creative shift for the series, with Cummings explaining the project would actually function as a revival rather than a straightforward reboot, set years after the original show with an older Darkwing deciding to return to crime-fighting after retirement. He’d also noted that Gosalyn, Darkwing’s adopted daughter from the original series, would now be grown up within this new continuity.

First announced back in 2020 with Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg attached as executive producers through their Point Grey Pictures banner alongside original creator Tad Stones serving as a creative consultant, the reboot has moved through years of scattered, often contradictory updates. Bleeding Cool noted that fan reports as recently as 2024 had suggested Cummings would still be voicing the character, making this latest confirmation a genuine surprise for longtime followers of the project’s slow development.

The original “Darkwing Duck” ran for three seasons and 91 episodes beginning in 1991, earning Cummings an Annie Award for his vocal performance and later winning over a new generation of fans through a “DuckTales” crossover appearance, where he voiced Jim Starling, the disgruntled actor who once played the character before losing his mind and becoming the villain Negaduck. Given how personally attached Cummings has clearly remained to the role over the decades, this recasting news lands as a genuinely bittersweet moment for a character he’s voiced across multiple iterations for more than 30 years.

With Disney still holding back official casting announcements or a concrete release timeline, fans are left once again waiting for more details on exactly who will be stepping into the cape once the reboot finally reaches Disney+.

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