James Wan Signed to DC’s ‘Swamp Thing’ Series
James Wan has been very busy lately. Not only has he signed up to produce The Conjuring 3 and the Crooked Man movie, but he’s also gearing up to promote the upcoming Aquaman movie, which he directed. In addition to all that, Wan’s been given another comic book character project by DC – Swamp Thing. But instead of an expected action movie, the upcoming project is going to be a drama series.
Swamp Thing is a prominent recurring anti-hero in the DC universe, created by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson. A monstrous, humanoid creature made of living flora, he’s had several incarnations over the years: sometimes as a scientist transformed by chemicals, sometimes a nature elemental, in some versions he can talk, while in others he can’t, and his villain levels are often subject to change.
Based on the series’ synopsis, it looks like the titular character may be a mash-up of several different versions:
“The drama follows what happens when CDC researcher Abby Arcane returns to her childhood home of Houma, Louisiana, in order to investigate a deadly swamp-borne virus. There, she develops a surprising bond with scientist Alec Holland — only to have him tragically taken from her. But as powerful forces descend on Houma, intent on exploiting the swamp’s mysterious properties for their own purposes, Abby will discover that the swamp holds mystical secrets, both horrifying and wondrous — and the potential love of her life may not be gone after all.”
After a deal-brokering process that took many months, DC Universe eventually put Swamp Thing into development in a script-to-series commitment, meaning that if the script satisfies when if comes in they’ll pick it up straight to series. This could be seen as risky as DC movies don’t have the greatest track record right now, but shows like The Flash and Gotham generally get a better reception, so how Swamp Thing will play out is up in the air for now.
Mark Verheiden (Battlestar Galactica) and Gary Dauberman (IT) will co-write the script, executive produce and serve as show-runners. Wan will also executive produce alongside Michael Clear and Rob Hackett under Wan’s Atomic Monster banner.