Disney didn’t accept a script for The Mighty Ducks 4 despite the screenplay being written by star Emilio Estevez, who has opened up about the story. Beginning as a standalone sports movie in 1992, the ice hockey-focused franchise currently consists of three movies, along with two TV series, one animated and another live-action. The live-action series, The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, featured a variety of callbacks to The Mighty Ducks series, but was ultimately cancelled by Disney+ in 2023 before being removed entirely from the streaming service.

Speaking with Josh Horowitz on his podcast Happy Sad Confused, Estevez, who starred in all three movies and Game Changers season 1, revealed he wrote a script for The Mighty Ducks 4. The series star details how his character, Coach Gordan, would have been pulled back into the practice, taking a roller derby group and transforming them into an expansion team for the Professional Women’s Hockey League. However, Disney ultimately pᴀssed on the idea. Check out what Estevez had to say below:

I also wrote Mighty Ducks 4. Because I wanted to make up for all of the disasters that happened on the Game Changers series…a feature script, yes. That had Coach Bombay coming back, being pulled back in by Josh Jackson’s character and Kenan Thompson’s character, and to coach a new team, an expansion team, for the Professional Women’s Hockey League. So it would be an all-girl team. Now, when we discover Bombay, he’s coaching roller derby. And so he says, “My girls are going with me. They have to have a sH๏τ.” And it was charming, and contemporary, and cool, and, again, organically of the moment. That’s where we’re at, and Disney was like, “We don’t want to pursue that.”

What Estevez’s Mighty Ducks 4 Idea Would Have Meant For The Series

Gordon Would Have Gotten The Spotlight Once Again

Estevez’s small role in D3: The Mighty Ducks was his last major appearance in the movie series, while he also showed up as a main character in Game Changers season 1. However, Gordon hasn’t been the main coach of the series in quite some time, something that would have been rectified in the actors’ idea for The Mighty Ducks 4. Estevez is familiar with filmmaking behind the camera, having most recently written and directed movies like 2010’s The Way and 2018’s The Public. The films received generally positive reviews from critics.

Even so, the franchise appears to be in limbo at Disney, with their most recent attempt at revitalization no longer available on the streaming service it premiered on. This opens the door for a fresh start, which Estevez could have lead, capitalizing on the nostalgic elements of the franchise. Instead, it seems like the company that owns the franchise’s rights is considering other options, despite the star’s script already being written. If there is something else for The Mighty Ducks in the works, however, it has yet to be revealed.

Our Take On Estevez’s Mighty Ducks 4 Script

The Perfect Evolution For The Series

Estevez’s script offers the perfect continuation for the ice hockey series, putting female leads front-and-center as Gordon learns how to return to the coaching position he loved for so long. It would also be on a larger scale by having a professional hockey league involved in the story, perhaps making it more mature compared to the rest of the franchise. Unfortunately, it sounds like The Mighty Ducks 4 isn’t going to be coming from his ideas, if Disney ever decides to move forward with another film in the franchise.

Source: Josh Horowitz/YouTube