James Mangold could be in the running to direct a Swamp Thing feature film.
Since the announcement of upcoming DC Studio projects this past Tuesday, Mangold, who is currently directing Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny, made his intentions clear. He tweeted an archival image of Swamp Thing by the legendary Berni Wrightson, but no caption. And sources confirm that he is in discussions with DC Studios’ co-chair, James Gunn. If he gets the job, this will be the second superhero project he has manned in recent years. His Hugh Jackman-led Logan, following Wolverine’s final adventure, is still held in critical acclaim as the best X-Men film.
It should be fair to note, however, that there have been no directors officially attached to any of the ten film that were announced.
James Mangold and DC’s Muckman – Who is Swamp Thing and Why Is This A Big Deal?
Created in 1971 by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson, the most infamous incarnation of Swamp Thing is Alec Holland. However, Holland is, in fact, the second version, as the first – Alexander Olsen – made his appearance in a very similar story in House of Secrets #92.
Both were scientists who fell victim to criminal machinations and, in the process, their own work that mutated them. In Holland’s case, terrorists after his bio-restorative formula bombed his lab, and, saturated with the formula while on fire, dove into the bog. He later emerged as a muck-encrusted humanoid, near-mute version of himself.
The original run saw the character endlessly pursuing both peace and a possible cure while battling horror-themed villains. Alan Moore would later establish both that this was a construct that believed it was Alec Holland, and that he was the latest in a hierarchy of avatars of “The Green,” the planet’s sentient ecology.
Writer Geoff Johns would later retcon this in Brightest Day and establish Holland as the true Swamp Thing to combat his then-corrupted double. Holland has recently gone off-world, as The Green has chosen a new avatar in Levi Kami.
This would not be the first live-action outing for the character. In fact, horror legend Wes Craven directed the first Swamp Thing film back in 1982. The movie starred Louis Jordan, Ray Wise, Adrienne Barbeau, and Dick Durock as Swamp Thing.
Batman: The Animated Series fans would recognize Barbeau for her later fame as the voice giving sultry life to Selina Kyle, AKA Catwoman, in 1992. Durock, meanwhile, would reprise the role in the campy 1989 sequel The Return of Swamp Thing with Heather Locklear, and again in a later USA Network sci-fi series.
A more recent and very popular series on DC Universe starring Crystal Reed was premiered and canceled within a week, due to creative differences with WarnerMedia.
Official Source – James Mangold reportedly in talks to direct Swamp Thing (batman-news.com)
