James Mangold has said his upcoming DCU film Swamp Thing won’t be created with a greater franchise in mind but will instead be a “simple, clean, gothic horror movie”.
Speaking to Variety, the Logan and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny director suggested his take on Swamp Thing will be different to a lot of recent DC or Marvel Cinematic Universe films.
DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran announced their master plan for the refreshed film franchise earlier this year, and while Swamp Thing is part of a wider Chapter 1 called Gods and Monsters, Mangold seemingly isn’t interested in creating ties to other films or planting seeds for follow-ups.
“While I’m sure DC views Swamp Thing as a franchise, I would be viewing it as a very simple, clean, gothic horror movie about this man monster,” Mangold said. Sticking to that idea, he added he’s been “toying for years with the idea of making a kind of Frankenstein movie”.
Mangold confirmed he’d be writing the film in April but said he called DC himself when Gunn and Safran took the reins to put his name into contention. Joining him in directing the DCU will be Gunn himself, who’s leading work on Chapter 1’s opener Superman: Legacy, while The Flash’s Andy Muschietti will direct Batman: The Brave and the Bold.
The remaining two films are The Authority (which may be introduced in Superman: Legacy) and Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. Little else is known about the latter, but The Flash’s Sasha Calle has met with Warner Bros. about returning as the character.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.