Shortly after the announcement that a newSwamp Thingmovie is in the works at DC Studios, it’s been revealed thatJames Mangoldmight direct.THRreports that theIndiana Jones and the Dial of Destinyhelmer is now in talks to directSwamp Thingfor James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DCU. The news follows Mangold seemingly teasing his potential involvement with the project by posting an image ofSwamp Thingartwork on Twitter shortly after the DCU announcements were made.
The report only notes that Mangold is in talks to direct the movie and it’s not yet clear if the filmmaker would also be penning the screenplay. He most often serves as a writer on his movies, sometimes alongside co-writers. This includes co-writing the hitX-MenspinoffLogan, which was nominated for an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. Before concluding the story of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine in that film in 2017, Mangold had also directed theX-MenmovieThe Wolverine, which was written by Scott Frank and Mark Bomback.
Given Mangold’s experience with comic book adaptations and the accolades garnered by the R-ratedLogan, he seems to be a pretty solid choice to take the reins forSwamp Thing. This movie will be much darker than the other titles announced for the DCU, with Gunn referring toSwamp Thingas a “horrific film,” though the character will still interact with others from the DCU.
Related:How Can Swamp Thing Be Included in James Gunn’s New DCU?
Swamp Thing Gets Reimagined for the DCU
There haven’t been many other details announced about theSwamp Thingreboot just yet. Peter Safran has said that the movie will “investigate the dark origins of Swamp Thing.” Gunn has also suggested that he felt inspired by how Rocket Raccoon oddly worked well when standing next to Thor and the other Avengers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, and he wanted to one-up “that mashup quality” by bringing in the dark, brooding Swamp Thing to mingle with the more colorful superheroes that make up the DCU.
Swamp Thinghas been adapted into film previously, with horror legend Wes Craven directing the original live-action film that was released in 1982. The film was given a sequel, 1989’sThe Return of Swamp Thing, with Jim Wynorski taking the helm. There were also both a live-action and animatedSwamp Thingshows in the early 1990s. More recently, another live-actionSwamp Thingseries debuted on the now-defunct streaming platform DC Universe in 2019. It was controversially canceled after one season despite its popularity and critical acclaim.
The nextSwamp Thingreboot does not yet have a release date set.
