“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” director James Mangold is in talks to direct the upcoming feature film adaptation of “Swamp Thing” for Warner Bros. and DC Studios.
The project was one of 10 announced by DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn as part of the first chapter of the new DC Universe, which will launch in 2025. Mangold teased his next potential project late on Tuesday with a picture of Swamp Thing on Twitter.
Created by Len Weight and Bernie Wrightson for the DC horror anthology series “House of Secrets” in 1971, Swamp Thing became famous in 1983 when “V for Vendetta” creator Alan Moore was hired as a writer for the creature’s standalone comic series in what was Moore’s first job for DC. For nearly four years, Moore made Swamp Thing into a popular character in the DC canon, developing much of the character’s mythology as a plant-based creature that absorbed the consciousness of a scientist named Alec Holland, who was killed after developing a formula that could restore and enhance plant life.
Swamp Thing was also the star of his own short-lived 2019 TV series created by “Annabelle” writer Gary Dauberman and “Falling Skies” creator Mark Verhaiden for the now-defunct DC Universe streaming platform. Now he will be joining Gunn’s rebooted DC Universe, which will be told in stories across film, television, animation and video games.
During the slate presentation on Tuesday, Gunn said that “Swamp Thing” will have the darkest tone of any of the projects currently in development, but the supernatural hero will still interact with other DC heroes in future tales. The new DC Universe will begin in earnest with the film “Superman: Legacy,” which Gunn is writing and will be released in summer 2025.
Mangold, whose “Indiana Jones 5” will be released on June 30, has previous experience with comic book films via the critically acclaimed standalone Marvel film “Logan,” which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. He is repped by WME, Entertainment 360 and Sloane Offer.