When James Gunn and Peter Safran unveiled his production slate as co-chairs of the newly minted DC Studios, they were big on titles but light on attached creative personnel. But now a new report is stating that at least one of those films may be close to getting a director.
Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny director James Mangold is reportedly in discussions with DC Studios to helm the horror-tinged Swamp Thing according to a report in the Hollywood Reporter.
The director, who also has the superhero films The Wolverine and Logan to his credit tweeted out a picture of the character earlier today. Gunn later retweeted it, adding fuel to the speculation fire.
— Mangold (@mang0ld) February 1, 2023
Should a deal close, Mangold will not be jumping right into work on the film. The director is currently putting the final touches on Indiana Jones and then is starting in on work on a Bob Dylan biopic for Paramount Studios. Previously, Gunn stated that the announced Swamp Thing film would be the closing installment of their first wave of film and television projects which would fall under the umbrella title of “Chapter One: Gods And Monsters.” Given that the kickoff film for this cycle, Superman: Legacy for which Gunn will provide the screenplay, is scheduled for a summer 2025 release, Swamp Thing is probably being targeted for a release somewhere around 2027 or 2028.
Interestingly, outside of the far better known Batman and Superman, Swamp Thing is one of the DC properties that has had a multiple of previous live-action adaptations. The character made its first live action appearance in the 1982 theatrical feature of the same name directed by Wes Craven. A sequel, The Return Of The Swamp Thing, followed in 1989, directed by Jim Wynorski. This second film spawned a spinoff TV series which ran on the USA Network for three seasons in the early 1990s. For all of these projects, actor and stuntman Dick Durock starred as Swamp Thing. In 2019, the now defunct DC Universe streaming service premiered a new Swamp Thing TV series. Originally, the series was set to run thirteen episodes, but had its order cut to ten due to an irregularity with the tax rebate the production was expecting from North Carolina where the show was being filmed.
