Swamp Thing

[MattJ1991]

Alex Garland has expresse interest in directing a Swamp Thing movie for DC.
I very, very, very much want this to happen. Swamp Thing has tons of potential, and if handled correctly could have a movie that could blow people away. Here's hoping that Annihilation is a hit and he can convince Warner Bros. to go ahead with this.



Here's the story from Slash Film:

[Show spoiler]

Like so many filmmakers these days, Alex Garland has had his brush with the comic book movie industry. The Ex Machina and Annihilation director was a screenwriter before he made the jump to the director’s chair, and one of the films he penned was the 2012 comic book adaptation Dredd.

But now that he’s starting to gain renown for his work as a director, comic book fans are inevitably clamoring for Garland to make a return to superhero movies. And he’s right there with them.

In a Reddit AMA promoting the upcoming Annihilation, Garland revealed which comic book character he would like to write and direct, if given the chance: Swamp Thing.

DC Comics’s Swamp Thing first appeared in 1971 horror anthology series House of Secrets. Created by Lein Wein and Bernie Wrightson, the half-man/half-plant creature rose to fame thanks to writer Alan Moore’s reinvention of the character in the 1980s. The Swamp Thing became an elemental creature who absorbed the body and memories of its human alter ego Alec Holland, never able to achieve the humanity it craves.

That has Garland written all over it.

Garland didn’t go into detail about what his purely hypothetical Swamp Thing movie would entail, but judging by his talent for approaching pulpy sci-fi elements through a restrained, humanistic lens, he could be a fantastic fit. His work behind the camera with Ex Machina and Annihilation, as well as his work on scripts for Never Let Me Go and Sunshine, prove him to be a challenging, ambitious sci-fi filmmaker who seeks to explore the meaning of human identity.

Swamp Thing has had the feature film treatment before, notably in Wes Craven’s low-budget 1982 Swamp Thing and its worse sequel. Several recent attempts to bring him back to the big screen have been less successful. Swamp Thing was initially expected to return to the big screen as part of the Justice League Dark roster, a film that has gone through several directors since 2014. We got a glimpse of what Joseph Kahn’s Swamp Thing could have looked like in a piece of eye-popping test footage from the director’s Justice League Dark pitch, but news on the movie has gone, well, dark.

It seems like Swamp Thing‘s recent history is a series of “almosts.” Warner Bros. toyed with the idea of making a Swamp Thing solo movie since 2014, even going so far as to register the character’s domain name. And on the animated side, the elemental antihero nearly got a solo straight-to-DVD movie which would have folded it into the animated Justice League Dark movie. But maybe with Garland expressing interest in a Swamp Thing movie (albeit through Reddit), maybe this could get the ball rolling again.

[Krypton_Son]

I'd love to see a new Swamp Thing. That could be an amazing movie.

[Mandalorian]

Great character with a godawful cinematic history (no offense to the people who like the Wes Craven film). Alex Garland would be an excellent choice to write and direct.

[Krypton_Son]

Originally Posted by Mandalorian

Great character with a godawful cinematic history (no offense to the people who like the Wes Craven film). Alex Garland would be an excellent choice to write and direct.

I've always been a fan of the originals, but yeah, they were terrible.

[Splatterpunk]

I would be thrilled with an R rated take on Swamp Thing that takes its cues from Alan Moore's run (though I love the Wein/Wrightson stuff, too). There's a great opportunity to present some fantastic visuals with the Green, the Parliament of Trees, the tuber hallucinations, etc.

[ben6543]

I would love a fresh take on Swampy. I don't trust the DCEU enough to not **** it up.

[Splatterpunk]

Originally Posted by ben6543

I would love a fresh take on Swampy. I don't trust the DCEU enough to not **** it up.

Hopefully, they'd keep him separate from the superhero stuff. I'd be more interested in a stylized horror film than a superhero film with horror elements.

[L.J.]

On board for this, be cool think if it stayed isolated from the other hero films. They don't all have to be a setup for a team up.

[Krypton_Son]

Yeah, a stand alone would be great. R rated and well cast.

[Splatterpunk]

So, just gonna spitball some casting...

Alicia Vikander as Abby Cable
Oscar Isaac as Matt Cable
Christoph Waltz as Anton Arcane
Karl Urban as the voice of Swamp Thing

[Falaskan]

I prefer not to watch movies about Trump.

[Splatterpunk]

Oh! And emphasize practical effects over cgi! Also, here are some of my favorite images that I'd love to see in a film!

[Show spoiler]

[Batmon77]

You actually trust DC with a Swamp Thing film???

If they can outsource it cool, but even i can enjoy Suicide Squad and dont think those folks can correctly handle the Swamp Thing. Its far from a video game SuperFriends.

[Splatterpunk]

Originally Posted by Batmon77

You actually trust DC with a Swamp Thing film???

If they can outsource it cool, but even i can enjoy Suicide Squad and dont think those folks can correctly handle the Swamp Thing. Its far from a video game SuperFriends.

I personally like the Nolan Bat-films, so I'd prefer something along those lines, maybe. Separate from the interconnected DC superhero films. Or kind of like how Vertigo used to be, with Swamp Thing, Hellblazer, and Sandman occupying the same universe but with no explicit connection.

[Batmon77]

Originally Posted by Splatterpunk

I personally like the Nolan Bat-films, so I'd prefer something along those lines, maybe. Separate from the interconnected DC superhero films. Or kind of like how Vertigo used to be, with Swamp Thing, Hellblazer, and Sandman occupying the same universe but with no explicit connection.

Nolan is long gone....and i wouldnt want some director trying to copy his style.

The first person that comes to mind that could handle SW is guillermo del toro.

The visuals are just as important as the story.

I just dont see SW being sold as a blockbuster.

[Splatterpunk]

Originally Posted by Batmon77

Nolan is long gone....and i wouldnt want some director trying to copy his style.

The first person that comes to mind that could handle SW is guillermo del toro.

The visuals are just as important as the story.

I just dont see SW being sold as a blockbuster.

I didn’t mean that I wanted Nolan, I just meant how the Batman universe was utilized in that trilogy. Self contained, treated seriously, high production values, etc. Del Toro would be cool and he’s a known comic fan. I like Garland’s stuff, too, though. He’s not afraid of high concept material and he’s respectful of franchises. I wouldn’t envision this as a blockbuster, either!