Way back in 1992, ‘The Mighty Ducks’ chronicled the misadventures of a rag-tag group of ice hockey players banding together under the mentorship of Gordon Bombay (Emilio Estevez), a lawyer whose past as a star junior ice hockey player is long behind him.
He’s none too happy, then when after a drink-driving charge, he’s drafted in to coach the struggling Mighty Ducks team as his community service. These kids aren’t the cream of the crop – and if they are, the cream has curdled.
And yet helps them find the strength to play like a real team, and they end up facing off against players representing the squad he used to be part of, helping him battle his own ghosts.
The original movie was popular enough to spawn a franchise, with two cinematic sequels and an animated TV show that was only loosely inspired by the movies, and instead focused on humanoid duck superheroes who play ice hockey.
Continuing and updating the story for a modern Disney+ audience, ‘Mighty Ducks: Game Changers’ brings the ‘Mighty Ducks’ concept into the present day, where the Mighty Ducks, far from being rag-tag, is now a giant sports franchise with top-tier players. But when one of their own is dropped (Brady Noon’s Evan Morrow), his mother Alex (Lauren Graham) ropes Bombay back in to help coach a new group of unlikely heroes.
Josh Duhamel as Colin Cole in ‘The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers’ Season 2, which premieres September 28th on Disney+.
Estevez isn’t back for season two, which finds the new Ducks – who were triumphant in their first season, winning the name back from the soulless franchise team – hitting the road with Alex to attend an intense summer hockey institute in California run by charming yet hardcore former NHL player, Colin Cole (Josh Duhamel). It’s a place for kids to get excellent at hockey — without school to get in the way. As our Ducks try to survive in this super-competitive environment, they’re faced with the question: Can you win summer?
In this exclusive clip from Episode 6 ‘Twigs,’ the individual competition part of the institute’s program is ending, and it’s time for the tournament period to begin. Coach Cole is looking to drum up enthusiasm as the team jerseys are handed out.
Alex, though, is not quite as impressed by the coach’s theatrics – at least until she considers that he “stuck the landing” with his inspirational speech.
Graham, at least, is happy with how the series, created by the original movie’s writer Steve Brill alongside Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa, tackles its themes. “The show philosophically looks at some of the pressures kids have through the lens of sports, especially as young teenagers now,” she told Entertainment Weekly. “Of course everybody enjoys winning, but at what cost? And what’s more important, is it your effort, your team spirit, or the results you get? Is it how you conduct yourself and what kind of character you have? It asks those questions in just a slightly more grown up way, because the kids are a little bit older now, there’s a little more romance, there’s a little more peer pressure kind of issues, and it’s all in the spirit of being a good team player, which I think is really sweet.”
‘The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers’ streams new episodes Wednesdays on Disney+.
Josh Duhamel as Colin Cole in ‘The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers’ Season 2, which premieres September 28th on Disney+.
Premiering September 28th on Disney+ is the second season of ‘The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers,’ which is a continuation of ‘The Mighty Ducks’ film franchise.
After winning back their team name last season, season 2 sees the Mighty Ducks and their coach Alex Morrow (Lauren Graham) attending an intense summer hockey institute called Epic in California run by hardcore former NHL player, Colin Cole (Josh Duhamel).
In addition to Graham and Duhamel the cast also includes Brady Noon as Evan Morrow, Maxwell Simkins as Nick Ganz, Sway Bhatia as Sofi Hanson-Bhatt, Luke Islam as Koob, Taegen Burns as Maya, De’Jon Watts, as Sam and Naveen Paddock as Jace Cole.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Josh Duhamel and Lauren Graham about their work on ‘The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers’ Season 2, reuniting with the kids, Alex’s relationship with Evan, the new camp, Duhamel’s new character, and why he liked joining the show.
‘The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers’ Season 2 premieres September 28th on Disney+.
You can read our full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Duhamel, Graham, Brady Noon, Maxwell Simkins, Sway Bhatia, Luke Islam, Taegen Burns, De’Jon Watts, and Naveen Paddock.
Moviefone: To begin with, Lauren, Alex has a very specific idea on what summer camp should be. Can you talk about her reaction to arriving at Epic and meeting Colin Cole?
Lauren Graham: So, we are under the false assumption that we’re going to a fun camp, and when we get there, we meet this really intense guy who’s talking about winning and working hard. It’s just confusing to me because both as a person and as a character, I really look forward to summer.
I, as a person, was a camp counselor for many summers and so I definitely, as a character, come in with ideas of campfires, singing songs, s’mores, meeting people to make out and that is not what this camp is all about. So, that sets up the conflict that we have for the whole season.
MF: Josh, can you talk about why Colin takes his hockey camp so seriously, and his reaction is to Alex when she starts questioning his methods?
Josh Duhamel: Well, unlike Lauren’s character, he views summer as an opportunity to play hockey without school getting in the way. So yeah, his idea about this camp is, he’s singularly focused on excellence and making sure these kids attain the best possible hockey summer that they can.
So, when she comes to town and with her attitude about summer camp and everything else, it really does cause a fun conflict between the two. She has no idea what she’s in for, and he really has no idea what he’s in for by her introducing him to this whole different way of thinking about how you might approach life in hockey. So, it’s a fun dynamic for sure.
Josh Duhamel as Colin Cole in ‘The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers’ Season 2, which premieres September 28th on Disney+.
MF: Can you also talk about the estranged relationship Colin has with his son Jace, and working with Naveen Paddock?
JD: Yeah, so I think that one of the reasons I love this show and to play this character is that he is a flawed dude, especially as a father. He’s really trying to figure out where he went wrong, why his son is becoming so much more distant from him. I think that he’s willing to reach out at a certain point and ask Lauren’s character, “What do I do?” This kid just doesn’t want anything to do with me.
He realizes he’s been pushing him too hard. He is that dad that is forcing his kid to be something that he expects of him and not really thinking about what the kid wants. So, over the course of the season, he really does learn that, you know what, maybe hockey isn’t the be all end all, and that he needs to be a father first and lead more by example.
MF: This season Evan is growing up and finding his own independence at the camp. Lauren, what role does his mother play in his life now and as the season moves forward?
LG: I think that’s one of the questions of the season and a question that my character has, which is like, “Where do I belong if he doesn’t need me?” Even if he doesn’t need me to worry about him so much, he does need me to support his dream. He’s really is growing up and she’s kind of got to let him do that.
I mean, I think at that age, the problems grow up too. He’s experiencing a little bit of a crush. I think going forward I’ll be able to help him with less little kid stuff and more adolescent stuff. Probably the arc of my character will be to continue to let him go and let him be a young man.
(L to R) Swayam Bhatia as Sofi Hanson-Bhatt, Luke Islam as Koob, De’Jon Watts as Sam, Brady Noon as Evan Morrow, Maxwell Simkins as Nick Ganz, and Lauren Graham as Alex Morrow in ‘The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers’ Season 2, which premieres September 28th on Disney+.
MF: Lauren, what was it like for you to reunite with the kids for season 2?
LG: It was such a relief to be back, to see them again, to have Josh on board and to really notice how they had matured. Everybody I think just enjoyed each other a lot and they forged even stronger friendships.
Because we were at home in Los Angeles, I just think it was really fun. Brady stole my car one day and went to McDonald’s. So, these are the kind of adolescent shenanigans that we’re now up against that we couldn’t do in Canada. So, it was really fun. He was like, “I’m getting my license soon.” I was like, “Enjoy your French fries.”
MF: Finally, Josh, what has it been like for you to join this series?
JD: I wasn’t expecting to have nearly as much fun as I did. It was incredibly well written. These kids were just fantastic to work with. I didn’t know what I was going to be walking into. I didn’t know if they were going to be a bunch of little brats, and they weren’t! They were awesome, unaffected, talented, friendly, and enthusiastic kids. Lauren is such a great leader and she’s such a great influence on these kids as well.
So, we had a really fun collaborative and creative environment and we made a show that I think is good on many levels. It’s emotional, and it’s very funny. Its action packed and it’s all those things that I think any family can sit down and watch, and it feels like it satisfies everybody.
‘The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers’ Season 2 premieres September 28th on Disney+.
