When we think about the biggest news we could cover for 2019 it would be something along the lines of a Darkwing Duck or Rescue Rangers reboot, maybe a new comic series for TaleSpin by Sabrina Alberghetti, or a new video game centered on one (or many!) of the Disney Afternoon franchises. Those are some of the things we would love to find ourselves reporting on this year.

This morning we found out at least one of those things almost happened in recent years. When I checked Twitter this morning I came across a tweet by Aaron Sparrow (the writer of the recent Joe Books’ Darkwing Duck comic book) that was both exciting and frustrating. Check it out below.

That’s right! Aaron Sparrow and James Silvani had been collaborating with a team who were creating a Darkwing Duck video game! We love the original NES game from the 90s (even if I can’t get past those silly ghosts!), and you can bet we would have purchased, reviewed, and streamed a new Darkwing Duck game.

Aaron went on to explain that he and James had a wonderful time working with the group to create a new game that would feel like a “spiritual successor” to the original NES game.

The creative team who chose to attempt the pitch to Capcom was headed by Simon Thomley, who can be found on Twitter as @HCStealth). Simon runs a software company named Headcannon. Check out the video below to see footage of the level created as a pitch to Capcom.

The game’s development began after Simon had an encounter at an electronics expo with someone from Capcom. He had an opportunity to pitch the idea and the person from Capcom seemed interested even giving Simon their card so that he could send an official pitch in. Unfortunately, things did not work out and Capcom hasn’t shown any interest in the game since.

You can hear Simon’s own words on how the game pitch went into development and then stalled by following the link below.

I’m not going to lie, this story is kind of a downer (add to it the cancelled Disney Infinity 4.0 information that came out today and it’s a bummer day for Disney video game nerds). We wanted to share this information with our followers for a few reasons.

One, how flipping cool is it that a software developer who loves Darkwing Duck began work on a successor to the original NES game!? Simon and his team went to work on a project that many of us have been begging for. We would love to have an opportunity to experience what they had planned, and to play a new DW game. If nothing else it puts Simon and Headcannon on our radar. Looking over their website and social media accounts, they are a company that we will be paying attention to in the future.

Secondly, this project was so amazing that they contacted Aaron Sparrow and James Silvani to help with story and design. We know those two love the character, and wish they could tell more stories based in St. Canard. We’ve missed their storytelling since their comic published by Joe Books was cancelled. How amazing would it be to experience more of their storyline (the game was pitched as a prequel to their comic story “The Duck Knight Returns”).

Thirdly, we need to let Capcom know they passed on a project that many of us Darkwing fans would have gladly paid for. We live in a world where social media campaigns change the course of television shows, video games, and maybe even politics. If anyone at Capcom is listening to fans on social media now is the time for us to speak up and let them know we would like to play Headcannon’s Darkwing Duck game. But let’s keep it civil.

Finally, we wanted to make sure you knew Simon and Headcannon have made the first level available as a free download for PC, Linux, and Mac users (HERE)! That’s right the demo they created to pitch to Capcom is available for you to play. You can check out their website by following this link: https://www.youtube.com/user/OCStealth

We hope everyone gives Simon some love on social media, check out their site, and let Capcom know how much you would love to play Headcannon’s game. Let us know what you think when you play the demo. You can reply below in the comments or you can reach us on Twitter @DuckTalks