'Lost's Kevin Durand Confirmed for 'Swamp Thing' Villain Role

Last week it was reported that LOST and The Strain star Kevin Durand was joining the DC Universe Swamp Thing series - and now we can confirm that it's indeed the case.

As Deadline new reports, Durand has cemented his deal to join the cast of Swamp Thing, as villain Jason Woodrue. As DC Comics fans know all too well, it's a role that will give Durand the chance to (once again) get a superpowered makeover.

In '60s-era DC Comics, Jason Woodrue is genius biologist whose bent and twisted ways lead him to become a (cheesy) villain known as the "Plant Master." In the '70s, Woodrue was transformed into a half-man, half-plant hybrid, known as Florinic Man, after being hired to research the power that gives Swamp Thing its power over Earth's plant life. Here's how the Swamp Thing TV series version will be adapting Jason Woodrue:

"Prickly genius Jason Woodrue is a biogeneticist without equal and he knows it. Brought in to study the unique properties of a small-town Louisiana swamp, Woodrue becomes fixated on unlocking the potential contained within — leading to tragic and monstrous consequences."

It's pretty clear why Swamp Thing is going with this choice in villain. Woodrue is a somewhat perfect foil for the lead character of Alec Holland (Andy Bean), a scientist who discovers a power called The Green, which transforms him forever, and gives rise to the being known as Swamp Thing (Derek Mears). For the longer format of a TV series, Woodrue would be able to go through the progressive stages of his comic book origins, first discovering the power of The Green, and perhaps using it to bring plant-creatures to life (an ode to Plant Master) before finally transforming into a plant-man hybrid who is fighting Swamp Thing for control of The Green in the climatic episodes of the series (an ode to Florinic Man).

Florinic Man has had his fair share od exposure in the DC Universe over the years. He recently appeared in the Justice League Dark and Batman and Harley Quinn animated features, and was also featured in a cameo appearance in Batman & Robin. If you don't remember, Joel Shcumacher's infamous Batman franchise-killing film featured Woodrue as the mentor of Uma Thurman's Dr. Pamela Isley - who also turned out to be a creep that tried to kill her, accidentally transforming her into Poison Ivy in the process:

Swamp Thing is expected to debut on DC Universe sometime in 2019.