Swamp Thing premiered May 31, 2019 on the DC Universe streaming service. That was less than one week ago and only one episode has aired at this point. Rotten tomatoes currently ranks Swamp Thing at 92%. Â But none of this prevented Warner Bros. from draining the swamp and cancelling the series.
DC fans everywhere have already started to show their anger at the announcement. Some have already started rallying to save the series with the hashtag SaveSwampThing.
Rumors as to why the cancellation took place immediately began circulating. It was reported earlier this year that Swamp Thing cut its first season short due to problems on set. Maybe that wasn’t the case. New information sheds some light on what led to cutting the season short as well as cancelling the series.
Apparently, North Carolina, where Swamp Thing is filmed promised a $40 million tax rebate. The total budget for Swamp Thing was $80 million meaning the rebate covered half the cost. Due to a clerical error North Carolina only rebated the show $14 million. This means Warner Bros. lost $26 million on the deal with no way to recoup their losses. This led to them pulling the plug on the entire series.
Swamp Thing was the third live-action series to come out of the streaming service following Titans and Doom Patrol. The fourth series, Stargirl premieres in the fall. But with Swamp Thing’s cancellation and the announcement of a new Warner Media streaming service, it leaves fans unsure of what to expect.
Warner Bros. has consistently disappointed fans with interference and poor decisions when it came to their DC films. DC fans turned to television for reliable DC adaptations. But now this latest bump in the road will make fans wonder if Warner Bros.’ poor decision making has just spread to its television division as well. Â People paid for the streaming service for a reason. If those shows get cancelled, then there is no reason to subscribe.
Warner Bros. may not be at fault this time, but it’s clear they need to take a good look in the mirror and fix things to regain the faith of DC fans.
