There are cynics out there who'll tell you that 'Star Wars' is the only good idea that George Lucas has ever had, and he spent the rest of his life bleeding the franchise dry for money after the success of the first film. We don't think that's completely fair, but the existence of stinkers like 'Howard the Duck' only serves to help the case against him.
According to Hollywood's rumor mill, Lucas made 'Howard the Duck' because he was in personal debt from the construction of his massive ranch. He thought a cutesy comedy was a surefire way to pay those debts off, but he was mistaken. Audiences didn't take Howard to their hearts, and the movie barely hit the break-even point. That forced Lucas to sell off a fledgling computer-animation company he'd founded. Steve Jobs bought it, and turned it into Pixar. That compounded Lucas' error!