Swamp Thing is one of the best, but also most mishandled characters when it comes to film or television adaptations for DC. The creature, formerly known as Alec Holland, has been given 2 films, a live-action TV series, an animated series, and a streaming series, with varying degrees of success. Even though huge names were attached to these productions like Wes Craven to the original film, and Teen Wolf’s Crystal Reed and It Chapter Two’s Andy Bean in the 2019 streaming series, the franchise always had more cult appeal than mainstream. Now, more than 50 years later, Swamp Thing is getting a new DC film.
Swamp Thing DC Film: What to Expect
While we don’t know the release date yet, James Gunn dropped his recent announcements of his Gods and Monsters DCU phase to instill hope in DC fans of great projects to come. Swamp Thing will be a dark horror film that resides outside the rest of the DC Universe, it’ll “feed into the rest of the stories.”
It was announced as the final project in James Gunn’s video but is persuasive evidence that DC has not given up on Swamp Thing due to its lasting cult appeal and critical acclaim in the comics.
Who is Swamp Thing?
Swamp Thing is the name for the Earth Elemental formerly known as Alec Holland. Holland was a biochemist working on a Bio-Restorative Formula to bolster the food supply chain, but was attacked and subsequently injured to the point of near death, coated in his formula, and fell into the Louisiana swamp.
Holland’s formula created a bond between his dying body and the swamp life surrounding him. This bound him to the life force connecting all plant matter, on or off-planet, The Green, and ultimately absorbing his consciousness. Holland was essentially made the avatar of this force, much like how Buddy Baker, Animal Man, is the avatar of The Red.
When Will the Swamp Thing DC Film Premiere?
Swamp Thing doesn’t have a firm release window in place but likely won’t premiere until at least 2025 or beyond given the order of announcements made by Gunn, and it taking place well after Superman: Legacy’s July 11, 2025 release date.
It’s uncertain how well this film will go over, but the fans are eager to see this character take another shot at the limelight, especially after the 2019 streaming series’ tragic cancellation.
- This article was updated on January 31st, 2023