‘Swamp Thing’: James Mangold Circling Director’s Chair for DCU Film

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Academy Award-nominated Director James Mangold could be bound for the swamps of Louisiana. According to The Hollywood Reporter and Mangold himself via a post on Twitter, the Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny helmer is gunning for the director's chair for DC's recently-announced Swamp Thing movie. He's currently in talks with the studio to helm the film which will be a part of the massive first chapter of James Gunn and Peter Safran's revamped DCU.

Swamp Thing was announced and detailed on Tuesday by Gunn and Safran, showing off just how tonally diverse their vision for the new DCU is. The film is set to explore the "dark origins" of the titular character, once known as the brilliant scientist Alex Olsen, who was severely burned by chemicals and merged with the very swamp he studied after diving into the waters to save himself. The film is expected to lean into the supernatural horror elements of the fan-favorite character, a move that draws a lot of similarities to the sadly canceled 2019 Swamp Thing series. Both Gunn and Safran hyped up their approach, noting how the new DCU will feel unique with the tonal clash of typical DC heroes and a more horrific creature like Swamp Thing.

Mangold is still early in talks to helm the project, but optimism seems high that a deal will be reached. After the director shared an image of Swamp Thing drawn by co-creator Barry Wrightson, Gunn retweeted it, seemingly giving the thumbs up to his involvement. Should Mangold and DC close the deal on the film, it would mark the director's grand return to the superhero genre for the first time since directing 2017's Logan for which he was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay. Swamp Thing would be somewhat new territory for Mangold, however, as he hasn't done any films that could specifically be labeled as horror. Given his track record, it's possible he'll also be writing the film, though that's unconfirmed at this point. For now, though, Mangold's attention is still on Dial of Destiny which is due out on June 30.

What Is the History Behind Swamp Thing?

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Although he debuted in 1971 in a standalone story, Swamp Thing wouldn't reach the peak of his popularity until the 1980s when author Alan Moore and illustrators John Totleben and Stephen R. Bissette kicked the comic into high gear with their run. The character marked a shift toward decidedly more mature, complex themes in comics and introduced some iconic characters along the way, including the beloved hero John Constantine, one of Swamp Thing's closest and longest-running allies, and Abigail Arcane, his love interest who sees the man within the muck. Swamp Thing himself has remained a fan-favorite ever since, appearing throughout DC Comics to this day.

His film history is a bit sparser than the average hero, however. Wes Craven helmed a popular 1982 film centering on the creature starring Dick Durock which eventually earned a sequel and a TV series. Swamp Thing got a chance to rise again 29 years after its first run on the small screen with the aforementioned 2019 series which proved to be one of the most beloved on-screen iterations of the character, though still failed to see more than ten episodes.