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Friday, September 8, 2017

How D4: The Mighty Ducks should unfold, if it ever happens

Those who were born the year the Eden Hall Warriors gave way to a Mighty Ducks mascot have reached or are on the cusp of legal drinking age.

Is that enough time for the opening and closing slow-motion flashbacks from D3 to lose their authority? Can the vault reopen for a long-rumored/proposed D4 late in this decade or early in the next?

In the quest for an answer, the most encouraging aspect is the widespread approval of the trilogy’s veterans. In a 2014 Time Magazine piece, Matt Doherty (Averman), Elden Henson (Fulton) and Marguerite Moreau (Connie) all indicated they would want in. Joshua Jackson (Charlie) has repeatedly expressed comparable sentiments.

Technically, “when” still has yet to upend “if” on this matter. Regardless of that status, the question of “how” has more open ice to work with.

To drop the puck on Pucks and Recreation’s 25-day look back on The Mighty Ducks and all of its offshoots, a quartet of staff writers offer their ideal plotlines for a hypothetical D4.

Eden Hall ensemble

Two years ago, Jurassic World gave us one sound example of how to pick up on a ’90s film series two-plus decades later. That is, it rehashed a familiar storyline and brought back a few familiar faces, but let new blood take to the forefront. And that would be the way to go for a belated D4.

With several of the Mighty Ducks actors now focusing on other careers, there is no sense in reassembling the old flock. With that said, there is no reason to shut out the characters whose performers are still in the business. There should be enough to create a story-hopping screenplay that catches up with a handful of former Ducks in their adult, post-playing lives.

Charlie is an obvious must-have, and maybe by now he could be coaching Gordon’s teenaged son at Eden Hall. Meanwhile, to reflect the progress the women’s game has made, the school should field a girls’ team co-coached by Connie and Guy, a la Shannon and Matt Desrosiers.

Like their coaches before them, the new players carrying the Ducks torch will take everything that comes with it, including off-ice hijinks and run-ins with rival teams. A bonus narrative could revolve around the injury-prone Adam Banks trying to end his professional playing career with dignity. – Al Daniel

Like Gordon, like Charlie

The logical choice for D4 would be to bring back many of the central characters, but keep the focus on Charlie. In the same way Gordon grew distant from hockey in the events leading up to the first film, a possible plot in D4 could involve Charlie returning from his own hockey hiatus, this time as a coach of his son’s team.

Throughout the movie, the cast of the original trilogy could make cameos, with Bombay assuming a similar role as Joss Ackland’s late Hans character. Gordon could supply the hockey wisdom Conway needs in his first attempt at coaching.

By the end of the movie, returnees such as Fulton, Banks and Julie Gaffney could all make an appearance to cheer on Charlie and his son’s team as they face their main rival.

Who would be that rival? If the primary antagonist is a player from a previous Ducks movie, be it an ex-teammate of Charlie’s or a former opponent, conflicting loyalties could make for an interesting D4 plot twist. – John Morton

Aging with grace

The Mighty Ducks trilogy’s original fan base has grown over its quarter-century of existence. It would therefore make sense if the movie universe had moved on in time as well. So, if D4 is made, it should be set in the present day with a recently retired Charlie Conway.

Conway went on to have a long, successful career in the NHL, and is now coaching his son’s team. He is struggling in that role because he is overbearing on his kids, and must realize that he is becoming like Coach Reilly from the first movie. He must learn the balance of getting his players to win, but keeping it fun for them in the process.

Conway’s relationship with his son would be a major storyline in the movie. Due to his time away from the family in the NHL, he doesn’t have a great relationship with his son. Having missed many special events, he decides to coach his son’s team to rebuild their relationship. But with his intensity, their already shaky relationship becomes even rougher.

Eventually they get it together and face off against a rival team with Conway’s son winning on a breakaway with a quadruple deke because the goalie only expects the triple deke. Charlie Conway had made the triple-deke famous in the NHL, therefore the move has become commonplace. – Zach Green

The more things change…

If D4 ever happens, the time that has passed since the original three came out offers a great chance to go full circle. The kids from the original film would likely be in their 30s by now, perhaps with kids of their own playing youth hockey

D4 should focusing on two teams, one for each generation. One would be the traditional Mighty Ducks, made up of a few children of some of the original team, and perhaps a few other players. It would be most fitting for Charlie to coach the team. As Bombay’s protege, it is only fitting that he would go on to fill his shoes someday.

The tactics and style of play would now be engrained into Mighty Ducks hockey, and the team would truly be a force to be reckoned with. They are no longer underdogs, but the dominant team in the area, much like the Hawks once were.

The other side of the film would focus on the original crew, now playing on an adult-league team coached by Bombay. The guys would have grown up to be successful in their adult lives, thanks to the shift in focus from winning to teamwork fun as the original films progressed.

Along with the success in their day-to-day lives, the hobbies of the original crew would be shown. Among these would be reflecting on their “glory days” of hockey, watching their children play for their former team and playing their own games. – Andrew Wisneski

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