Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, currently airing its first season on Disney+, has brought back the nostalgia for the classic hockey films in full force. Though the beloved Ducks are now the team viewers are rooting against, the affection for the old team members is still very strong, which will be proved beyond a doubt when the original cast returns on April 30.
Show creator and film writer Steven Brill spoke to Screen Rant about engineering the reunion episode and some of his goals for the new series.
Did you ever think that Mighty Ducks would have the kind of impact it has had? I mean, I was 11 when the first film came out, I was obsessed with it, and I still am.
Steven Brill: I never thought it would be an NHL team, and I certainly didn't presume that it would spark as much interest in kids to actually go out and play. I thought it would give them the opportunity and let it be an experience of learning hockey or seeing hockey. But I never thought it would be as big as it would be.
I just thought it would be really a little fresh to do a hockey story that people could be exposed to, along the lines of a sports drama. And that was my hope. that people would just enjoy it. I didn't know it would spread into a movement, literally, where people would create teams and then go out and play - but nothing could be better. Because hockey is, I think, one of the best sports to play and the most beautiful to watch. It's just a great sport for character and exercise, so I'm really thrilled about that.
What went into the decision of having the Mighty Ducks this time around be the antagonists for Game Changers?
Steven Brill: Yeah, that was thought about years ago, because I was mulling over what the progression of the Mighty Ducks could be. I sort of alluded to it in Ducks 2 that there was a corporation called Hendrix that was pulling at youth sports, and this idea was that they could go in a different direction - particularly if Gordon Bombay wasn't associated with the team anymore. That they could turn into this very disciplined, hard-edge, very aggressive sports culture, where it wasn't about the original joy of the game and some stuff I talked about a few seconds ago. It was more about winning and moving on to professional hockey, and just the way sports culture has gotten.
We thought, "Well, what would happen? The Ducks would either with Bombay keep going, or they could essentially relapse and turn into a corporate, much harder-edged version of a team that wants to win. That more resembles how the Hawks were." And that would be a better arc. This was a few years ago, and then Cobra Kai came out, and they had looked at their franchise the same way. It's not a gimmick; it just is a good logical extension, I think, for the characters. Coincidentally, I think it was validating that people liked it. A few people complained, but I was like, "That shows you that idea will work, as long as you're authentic and logical. I think people will buy it."
Being a stepfather and just dealing with life, I understand the adult characters a lot more now. This is the perfect blend of a family show, because you have the kids involved as well, but it also dives into real issues like college violations. What went into the decision of having Gordon Bombay affected by all that?
Steven Brill: What went into the decision is we wanted to knock him back, as opposed to over the last 20 years since you saw him. He had a law degree, he was at the prime of all his powers, and he was thinking about going back to play professional hockey again. He wanted to try that.
The thought was that he might have tried those things, but he caught some bad breaks or caught some edges as we say in hockey. He got knocked down, and I thought that would be a more interesting way to approach the character, and then obviously give the chance of "could he rebuild themselves" with this new team and new co-coach. That seemed like a much better dramatic structure than having a really happy, top-of-his game guy finding a new group of very capable kids. Someone's got to be the underdog again to get this going, and life cycles that way sometimes. It seemed to be the move.
You came into direct episode 6 of Mighty Ducks: Game Changers. Can you talk to me about reuniting with some of the original Ducks?
Steven Brill: I've been in touch with them pretty regularly, meaning like every 2, 3, or 4 years. There was a reunion of everyone five years ago. Emilio wasn't able to make the reunion, so he literally hasn't seen anybody since we started shooting. And I've been close with Kenan; I'd worked with Kenan on a movie last summer, which was a great reunion for us and. Josh Jackson, I've stayed in touch with fairly regularly. And all the other kids, it's like a family - we all went through that experience together, so we do stay in touch and on top of it, and our emails are always going back and forth.
But when we were able to actually do this, it was just so exciting to be able to get to see and physically reunite, even during COVID. It was amazing to meet them. And a lot of us all met on the ice for the first time, because Emilio got his skates on and everyone had practiced skating again. Everyone reunited on the ice, which was pretty cool.
Can you talk about where some of the characters are in their lives in the Mighty Ducks universe now?
Steven Brill: Yeah. There's a quick go around the table where they drop small ideas of where they are.
Connie's a Minnesota State Senator, which is awesome. In the Amy Klobuchar mindset, I was thinking they're starting in Minnesota, and it seems like a really good and logical extension from her character. And Guy is his her husband, which I like that he's defined by being her husband, because he was defined by being Connie's boyfriend throughout the series in many ways. The fact that they're together, and they have a good joke in there that Guy says they have seven kids. Connie says, "We have three kids," and he says, "Feels like 7." That tells you what they've been going through, but they're together, and it's a nice testament to a long enduring relationship. They've probably broken up when they were in college or something, but got back together.
Fulton has gone through a lot of jobs, but he's still in Minneapolis working for the city. Averman, I can't tell you what he does, because that's a spoiler for sure. Kenny Wu, he actually plays in a cover band. I don't say what bands they cover mostly, but I'll give you a hint: it's weird, 80s New Wave covers. Depeche Mode and stuff like that. But he's able to only do that because he made a lot of money in tech. He used to work at Honeywell in Minneapolis through his contacts; they had a little tech breakthrough and he made - not billions, but he's very wealthy. So, now he plays your cover.
Portman is in Sedona, Arizona. He teaches mindfulness meditation. Julie the Cat is a chef in Brooklyn, and Dwayne Robertson works in a rodeo. Anybody else, I'll let you know.
I didn't know about some of those that were mentioned; that's amazing.
Steven Brill: Yeah, they're not in the episode. But everyone has an arc. Russ Tyler, I feel weirdly that he went on to be on Saturday Night Live. Which is strange, because Kenan is on Live, but I think Russ Tyler actually also went on Saturday Live. So, when Russ Tyler comes back to the show, he could be a guy who was on Saturday Night Live.
Will we see a Mighty Ducks: Game Changers season two? This is my favorite family show that we all watch together.
Steven Brill: Great. That's why, between us, this is hitting that thing that we really tried to do. It's a hard target, but you can unreservedly watch with your family without any like, "Oh, boy. Now's the violence. Now's the bad guy." We have all the dramatic elements, but it has a wholesomeness, which isn't pandering, that I really like.
I really want to do as you can see, because I think we've figured out how to do this. And I think for people of all ages, from 38 to 11, it's a great watch show. I hope, I hope, I hope.
We got a reference to Charlie Conway in episode 6. Is there a possibility of seeing Charlie Conway return to Mighty Ducks: Game Changers?
Steven Brill: Yeah, a possibility. If we move forward, I want Charlie to touch base. He's a huge part of Emilio's story, and there was a lot that happened that I haven't talked about. I only allude to something in this episode between Charlie and Emilio. But don't forget, there's Charlie's mom, Casey, who's still around. I don't want to give away all those stories. but we have a bunch of thoughts on that.
It's funny, Josh is a big TV star, and sometimes he's literally not available. He's on another TV show. So, maybe things will work out.
This new crop of Ducks is quite amazing too - Evan, Nick, Sofi; they're all brilliant. Can you talk to me about some of the qualities these new Ducks have that really stood out to you as the show creator?
Steven Brill: Yeah, it's funny because it reminded me very much of really looking for the original Ducks with the process. They have to be good people; it's strange. Not that kids are bad people, but sometimes there's just an energy that you get. Maybe it's a wholesomeness, or a sweetness. And I think in casting, we just found really good kids, for lack of a better phrase.
You've got to get good kids who have skills at acting - I mean, they don't have to be professional, skilled, trained actors - but just have heart. I think we found kids with a lot of heart and a lot of empathy. That was what reminded me of the old group in this group.
They didn't have to be skaters; they all lied pretty much and said they could skate. I knew they were all lying and very few of them could skate. Except Brady [Noon]; he could skate pretty well, but never on the level needed, so they had to train. And that was really fun for everybody.
There's a large focus on the adult characters in Game Changers. Can you talk to me about what went into the decision to make the parents such an integral part?
Steven Brill: Well, Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa really wanted to explore the idea of the culture of the parents on both sides of the Ducks and the Don't Bothers. They wanted to make them a part of the storylines, and I thought that was great. We hadn't done that that much in the other movies, and the idea to incorporate their point of view and use it as a plot device in many points was good.
It's kind of not ambitious, but it worked out great that we can balance adult storylines that the kids can sort of enjoy. They don't tune out necessarily. In my episode, there's also the Lauren Graham and her boss arc, which is substantial. Those are not necessarily for the adult audiences, but they reflect the adult point of view more, and I think it's great that it can fit in. That's a lot of what Josh and Cathy and the writers wanted to accomplish.
D2 is my favorite ad of the franchise. Is there a chance or a possibility that a season of Game Changers can focus on the kids going back to the Goodwill Games?
Steven Brill: Well, yeah. I was in the same position pretty much 30 years ago when number one was a big hit, and then 2 we got ordered. They didn't say it after we finished, even though Emilio at the end of 1 snuck in a line about "We'll see you next season." That was literally a joke. That was a presumptuous joke; we never were saying it, it was somebody's adlib that became prescient and then became necessary.
Next season? The Goodwill Games, I don't know if it exists, but that idea of taking them on the road is a really good one too. That group stays together and they go on another adventure, it's certainly something worth thinking about.
The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers is now streaming on Disney+.