Logan director says his Swamp Thing movie will be "a simple, clean Gothic horror" that's not connected to the wider DCU

News
By published

James Mangold has teased what to expect from his upcoming Swamp Thing movie

(Image credit: DC)

Sorry, Justice League Dark fans, the DCU's upcoming Swamp Thing movie won't be connected to the wider franchise. Well, if director James Mangold can help it, anyway...

In a new interview with MovieWeb, the filmmaker, whose previous works include Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and Logan, teased what to expect from his adaptation, describing it as a "simple, clean Gothic horror about this man/monster."

"With other kinds of IP, it gets to a religious level. While I'm sure DC views Swamp Thing as a franchise," Mangold continued. "[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."

Created by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson, Swamp Thing first appeared in House of Secrets #92 back in July 1971. It's not been made clear which version of the character Mangold will be bringing to life but in the comics, the antihero has had four different alter-egos: Alexander Olsen, Alec Holland, Tefé Holland, and Levi Kamei. It's most likely that the film will center on Alec, though, given that he's the most notable – and was also the protagonist of DC's TV show that ran for one season in 2019.

His best-known enemies include Floronic Man, General Sunderland, the Un-Men, and Anton Arcane, while he goes on to become the partner of John Constantine – a fact that had some fans hoping Swamp Thing's movie would usher the occultist into the DCU.

Amy West
Amy West

I am an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things TV and film across our Total Film and SFX sections. Elsewhere, my words have been published by the likes of Digital Spy, SciFiNow, PinkNews, FANDOM, Radio Times, and Total Film magazine.