Virginia Madsen Calls Swamp Thing Cancellation "A Great Disappointment"

By Nicole Drum

Back in 2019, despite positive reviews DC Universe's Swamp Thing was cancelled after just one episode had aired. The DC series would end up getting a second life of sorts when the series was broadcast on The CW, but a second season for the fan-favorite horror drama was just not in the cards. Unlike the other DC series that started on the now-defunct DC Universe — Titans, Doom Patrol, and DC's Stargirl, the former two which will wrap up their runs later this year on HBO Max — Swamp Thing's story was cut short and for series star Virginia Madsen, it remains a great disappointment. Speaking with ComicBook.com in an exclusive interview for her film One Day as a Lion starring Scott Caan and JK Simmons which hits select theaters on April 4th and releases on Digital on April 7th, Madsen said the show being cancelled felt like the rug being swept out from beneath her and it was a decision that, she feels, didn't make sense.

"Can you imagine how bummed out I was? I was ready to buy a house in Wilmington [where the show filmed]. And everyone was so close, because we were setting the stage for a long run. We got to lean on each other and became a family in that kind of situation when you're in that kind of [project]. Everyone was ready and it was kind of like the proverbial rug being swept out from underneath you and I really felt it didn't make sense. It didn't make sense at all. There was no explaining it. I just had this sort of hang my head and go home and eat a lot of comfort foods for a few months … but yes, it was a great disappointment."

While the Swamp Thing series didn't go beyond one season, it isn't the end of the line for the character. Earlier this year James Gunn revealed that a Swamp Thing movie is part of the opening DC Studios slate, with the film expected to explore the character's dark origins.

"The final film we want to talk about is Swamp Thing," Gunn said during his presentation. "And we bring it up because it's important to point out that in these stories, although interconnected, they're not all tonally the same. Each set of filmmakers brings their own aesthetic to these films, and the fun is seeing how these tonally different works mash up in the future. This is a film that will investigate the dark origins of Swamp Thing."

While no additional details about the Swamp Thing movie have been revealed, Madsen did say that she doesn't expect to be asked to reprise her role as Maria Sunderland in the film — though she would like to see Derek Mears return as Swamp Thing.

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"I would doubt it," she said. "I think that kind of director is going to make it his own. If anything, I wish that they would bring Derek into the movie because he had so much heart."

Madsen's next film, One Day as a Lion hits select theaters on April 4th and Digital on April 7th.

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