DC fans received quite the shock when the upcoming streaming service, DC Universe, released the first trailer for the live-action Titans series and it featured Dick Grayson snarling “F— Batman” through a bloodied lip. It’s clear that the service is going for a hard-R rating with its original programs, and that extends to the upcoming Swamp Thing series as well.
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Given that the series is based on the original works of Alan Moore, it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that Swamp Thing is going for some serious adult themes. During an interview with /Film about his recent screenplay for The Nun, Swamp Thing writer Gary Dauberman was asked what would set this adaptation of the story different from the other attempts in the past.
According to Dauberman, it all has to do with the vast amount of creative freedom that DC Universe provides.
“This is one, when you talked earlier about the rating for The Nun, we always set out to make Swamp Thing as hard R as we could and go graphic with the violence, with the adult themes and make it as scary as possible,” Dauberman said. “Because we’re doing it through the DC streaming service, they really pushed us, although they didn’t have to push hard, for us to go as extreme as we could. We really took our inspiration from the Alan Moore run in Swamp Thing, this landmark I think run. Fans of that series will know it gets pretty weird and extreme and scary. We really wanted to live up to that standard that Moore set up back in the ’80s.”
The writer also talked a bit about the costume that Swamp Thing will don in the new series. Unlike previous iterations, this take will look a lot more like an evolved creature than a “man in a suit,” as the Dauberman puts it.
“Then of course it allows us, Swamp Thing himself looks incredible what Justin Raleigh and the guys over at Fractured are doing with the suit,” he said. “So it’s going to look amazing and less of the ‘man in suit’ that you’ve seen in the movie and the other TV show.”
Despite the changes, Dauberman did confirm that “there is a physical costume, yet.”
He then confirmed that the show will feature the origin story of Swamp Thing, and will be told from the perspective of Abby Arcane, who will be played by Gotham alum Crystal Reed.
“Yeah, it’s the origin story of the Swamp Thing and it’s Alec Holland wrestling with who he’s become. A lot of it’s told through the point of view of Abby Arcane,” Dauberman said.
Are you excited to see the new Swamp Thing series on DC Universe? Were you expecting it to be R-rated? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
