Two birds with one stone: Disney cancels The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers and Big Shot

While Disney triples down on sequels and remakes, not all of them get the star treatment. First on the list, The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers will not return to the ice. Per Deadline, Disney canceled Mighty Ducks and the John Stamos-vehicle Big Shot after two seasons.

The much-anticipated return to the magical world of kids’ sports movies was not the must-watch series the studio hoped for, and its production wasn’t so easy either. Aside from a hectic shoot at the beginning of the pandemic, Emilio Estevez, the star of the Mighty Ducks and, really, the only pull for aging and nostalgic millennials to check out the show, left after one season. While the terms of his exit were never clear, Estevez publicly responded to rumors that he left the show due to his stance COVID vaccines, which he denied. In the end, he said, “a good old-fashioned contract dispute” led to his exit. Estevez maintained that he was not anti-vax and disclosed that he suffered from long COVID. Nevertheless, the series continued without him, allowing Lauren Graham and Josh Duhamel to take over coaching duties.

Meanwhile, Big Shot came with a high pedigree. From the twisted minds of David E. Kelley, Dean Lorey, and Brad Garrett, Big Shot starred Stamos as a disgraced NCAA basketball coach who, get this, finds redemption coaching a high school girls’ team. Season two of Big Shot premiered just four months ago.

None of this is shocking. Disney’s glut of reunion shows with pricey stars is probably going to start winding down, with the company looking to offset losses from its pivot to streaming. So pour one out for the Bash Brothers, who will spend eternity in the penalty box—or, more likely, until Disney decides to reboot the franchise.