Guardians of the Galaxy is an in-universe live-action film.
Description[]
In 2014, the big-budget success Guardians of the Galaxy served as Howard the Duck's big acting come-back. Howard tried to brag about it to his long-time rival Donald Duck, launching another one of their arguments — thankfully interrupted by the arrival of Super Duck.
Behind the scenes[]
This film is mentioned in the 2014 comic story Howard the Duck and Donald Duck. The implication, of course, is that it is the Prime Universe equivalent of real-life Marvel superheroes film of the same note, whose post-credits stinger featured a cameo by Howard as an easter egg; speculation ensued online on whether this hinted at a return of the character on the big screen after the flop of the 1986 film, rumors which have failed to substantiate themselves since then.
Howard did make other cameoes in films Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (where he has lines) and Avengers: Endgame (as an extra in the crowd).