Swamp Thing director James Mangold sheds light on his vision for the upcoming DC Studios project, outlining his approach to working in something that’s part of a massive franchise. In an interview with MovieWeb to promote his Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, Mangold discussed future films he has in development, including Swamp Thing and an untitled Star Wars movie exploring the origins of the Jedi. “Swamp Thing at DC, it’s just a matter of — do we find a way on the page to say something original?” Mangold said when asked about balancing his creative interests with an established IP.
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“I’m not that interested in being handcuffed by so much lore at this point that it’s almost immovable and you can’t please anybody,” Mangold added. “With Bob [Dylan] you have known quantities, yes, but there are ways to interpret them. With other kinds of IP, it gets to a religious level.” The filmmaker underscored the necessity to find the “humanity” in the story in order to connect with the most people possible. “Usually, the movies you remember are the ones that move you.”
Previously, Mangold revealed he views Swamp Thing as a “Gothic horror movie about this man/monster … just a standalone.” While he’s aware DC Studios could see Swamp Thing as a starting point for a new franchise, Mangold is not concerning himself with how the character could fit into the larger DC Universe. The genesis of the project stems from the director’s desire to make “a kind of Frankenstein movie,” which led him to pitch Swamp Thing to DC Studios co-heads James Gunn and Peter Safran. Announced back in 2023, the film does not have a release date as of this writing.
Interestingly, Mangold believes shared cinematic universes are “the death of storytelling” since they encourage viewers to think more about how the various projects fit together instead of concentrating on the story being told in the film or TV show. Despite feeling this way, he has continued to work in major Hollywood franchises, helming Logan and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny before moving on to develop Star Wars and DC films.
While Gunn has expressed interest in telling Elseworlds tales that are not part of the DCU canon, Swamp Thing is set in the shared universe. It was one of the projects Gunn revealed when he outlined the franchise’s first wave of projects. It will be interesting to see how Mangold’s sensibilities fit into that larger operation. Seeing that the director doesn’t want to be “handcuffed” by extensive amounts of lore and mythology, it seems likely he will downplay any DCU connections in Swamp Thing. That would allow the movie’s story to stand on its own, keeping the focus squarely on the character’s dark origin.
Whether Swamp Thing has a future in the DCU will likely depend on a variety of factors, including how Mangold’s film performs critically and commercially. If it’s a success, Warner Bros. would probably be interested in pursuing additional projects featuring the character. But for now, Mangold’s approach is an interesting one in the realm of shared cinematic universes. Many times, projects are conceived with an idea of how everything will come together. Mangold is just trying to make a compelling story that will resonate with viewers.
