Several DC Studios projects have fallen by the wayside – but not Swamp Thing.
James Mangold's horror project has largely been on the backburner since it was first unveiled back in 2023.
Speaking to Deadline at the Clayface premiere, DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran has confirmed that work is still ongoing on the film.
"We're working on it, absolutely," Safran said. "The script is being written as we speak. But it's something we're excited about. All these things take time – when you've already got a filmmaker involved, you've got to wait for their window [of availability] as well."
Prior to this, Mangold described his take on Swamp Thing as a "simple, clean Gothic horror about this man/monster."
Mangold told MovieWeb, "[I'm] just doing my own thing with this, just a standalone. I’m not that interested in being handcuffed by so much lore at this point that it's almost immovable and you can't please anybody."
While Swamp Thing isn't one of DC's A-list characters, the creature – a swamp monster aiming to protect the environment – is one of comics' more popular supernatural beings. Swamp Thing's popularity rose in the 1980s thanks to an acclaimed run by Alan Moore and a 2019 live-action show was short-lived but well-received. Throughout most of its history, however, the character has largely existed on the periphery of DC fandom.
Swamp Thing won't be the only horror presence in the DCU. Early Clayface reactions are praising the grisly take on the origin story of the iconic Batman villain.
For more, we have a look at what's ahead as part of DCU Chapter One.
