‘Mighty Ducks’: Josh Duhamel Set as New Male Lead in Disney+ Series

Disney+ series The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers has found its new male lead.

Josh Duhamel has joined the cast of The Mighty Ducks TV sequel series. The actor fills the void created by the departure of Emilio Estevez and will play a new character in the second season of the series.

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Duhamel will portray Gavin Cole, a former NHL player turned coach who is described as inspirational, charming and hard-core as he is big on the hockey metaphor that applies to life. He runs the super-intense summer hockey institute where the Mighty Ducks land for season two.

The actor joins a cast that includes season one star Lauren Graham and Brady Noon.

Estevez, the former face of the Mighty Ducks franchise, departed Game Changers in November following a contract dispute with Disney’s ABC Signature. The studio had asked that all actors and those in Zone A on the series comply with a mandate to be vaccinated for COVID. While the actor and his reps declined to provide guarantees that he would comply, the studio opted to not pick up his contract for season two and continue the story without his beloved coach, Gordon Bombay. Estevez disputed his position as an “anti-vaxxer” and attributed his exit to creative differences.

Cathy Yuspa and Josh Goldsmith (13 Going on 30, The King of Queens) return as showrunners for season two and co-created the series alongside the film’s Steven Brill. James Griffiths and Michael Spiller exec produce, with the former having directed multiple episodes. Graham exec produces alongside George Heller and Brad Petrigala of Brillstein Entertainment Partners and Jordan Kerner. Spiller and Griffiths will not return for season two.

Duhamel’s credits include Netflix’s Jupiter’s Legacy and NBC’s upcoming limited series The Thing About Pam, opposite Renée Zellweger. On the feature side, he’s got Lionsgate’s Shotgun Wedding with Jennifer Lopez due in June. He’s repped by ICM, John Carrabino Management and Hansen Jacobson.

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