DC fans have a lot to look forward to with the DCU led by James Gunn and Peter Safran. Gunn and Safran announced ten new projects (five films and five series) that will lay the foundation for what the new era of DC will look like for the foreseeable future. While only one of these new DCU projects, Gunn’s Superman: Legacy, was given a release date, it seems like the goal is for all of these projects to be released between 2024 and 2028. One project that already seems to be hitting the ground running is the new Swamp Thing movie, which Logan and Walk the Line director James Mangold is in talks to direct.

Swamp Thing is one of DC’s strangest characters, which perhaps means it’s not all that surprising that Gunn is looking to incorporate the character into the DCU. Gunn is well-known for spotlighting some of the wackiest comic-book characters and bringing them to life in a manner that makes them genuinely compelling. Even though Swamp Thing may not be one of DC’s most popular characters, this new movie will be far from the first time the character has appeared on-screen. There have been numerous adaptations of Swamp Thing throughout the years, ranging from two solo films in the ‘80s to a ‘90s TV series, a rebooted one-season series in 2019, and, most recently, an appearance in the third season of the Harley Quinn animated series on HBO Max.

Despite these numerous appearances already, Swamp Thing has yet to really catch on with general audiences. However, that doesn’t mean that the character can’t. The approach that Gunn seems to be taking to the character and film could make Swamp Thing one of the real highlights of the new DCU. In the video announcement of the DCU’s first chapter, Gunn said that the Swamp Thing film is “a very dark horror story and the origins of the monster who is Swamp Thing, and although it’s tonally outside the rest of the DCU, it will still feed into the rest of the stories.” Here’s why a Swamp Thing horror movie is a perfect addition to this new game plan for the DCU.

Updated October 8, 2023: This article has been updated by Evan Lewis with more information regarding Swamp Thing’s DCU debut.

Broadening the DCU’s Boundaries
DC Comics

The first chapter of the new DCU, led by Gunn and Safran, has been titled “Gods and Monsters,” and Swamp Thing is definitely categorized as the latter. In the comics, the DC universe is immense. There are so many different characters, tones, and overall approaches to the world that exist under the same umbrella. By embracing both the classic superhero facets and the darker and more monstrous aspects of the universe in “Gods and Monsters,” Gunn and Safran are committing to building a DCU that embodies a similar broadness in tone as the comics. Across this first chapter of the DCU, there are stories that will explore vastly different tones and approaches to what a comic-book movie or series can be. Swamp Thing is a great example of that.

The story of the Swamp Thing can be deeply unsettling, both in its tale of murder and revenge, as well as its grimy and somber aesthetic. While, in the past, DC has been accused of developing fairly generic superhero outings that failed to really do anything new with the genre, the development of a Swamp Thing movie is a big step in the right direction.

Related: Best Superhero Horror Movies, Ranked

It won’t be the first time that a superhero movie or show has embraced some horror elements, as the likes of The New Mutants, Moon Knight, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Werewolf by Night have all attempted to be horror-inspired in one way or another. However, Swamp Thing could easily outdo them all. Except for perhaps Werewolf by Night, Swamp Thing would be the first of these modern outings to have significantly more in common with the horror genre than it does with a straightforward superhero flick.

Differentiating from the MCU
DC Comics

One of the most important things that the DCU needs to do in order to be successful is to thoroughly differentiate itself from what the MCU is doing. There’s one clear arena where the DCU has an opportunity to outdo Marvel, and that’s by making all of its films feel notably different from one another.

One of the biggest complaints about the MCU since its inception has been that all of its films have the same look and feel to them. While there have been a few films, like Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy, that have embraced outside genres in order to deliver a movie that differentiates itself from the pack, this complaint largely continues to haunt the MCU to this day. By announcing Swamp Thing, among other genre-based projects like Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow and The Authority, Gunn and Safran are looking to build the DCU on the strength of different genres, approaches, and creative voices.

Now, that’s not to say that the MCU hasn’t tried to add some variation in recent years. When speaking about Swamp Thing, one of the most relevant examples to bring up is the introduction of a more horror-centric corner of the MCU through the Werewolf By Night Disney+ Special Presentation. That hour-long outing introduced the Man-Thing, Marvel’s equivalent to the Swamp Thing, into MCU canon.

However, the Werewolf By Night special was just the MCU dipping its toes into that kind of story. While the critical reaction to the special was positive, the viewership numbers were okay at best. So, it seems unlikely that those characters will become a major factor in the MCU anytime soon. Considering that, there’s a clear opening for the DCU to firmly stake its claim in the horror space with Swamp Thing. It reportedly would “explore the dark origins of the character,” and that would be an interesting direction for Gunn to go. However, James Mangold suggested these origins could be altered from what we know in the comics, so it’s impossible to guess exactly how Swamp Thing would become Swamp Thing.

The Success of the Horror Genre
DC Comics

While there’s no doubt that massive blockbuster superhero movies are the name of the game in Hollywood right now, horror is one of the genres that is still consistently able to carve out its own space in the market. While part of the reasoning for this is horror movies typically have a smaller budget, which makes it easier for them to turn a profit with a smaller audience, there’s also the fact that horror fans are some of the most dedicated genre fans out there.

Tapping into this passionate fan base with a property like Swamp Thing could potentially yield great results. While the horror genre has never gone away, it has experienced an uptick in interest in recent years, partly due to the work of director Jordan Peele, whose films (Get Out, US, and Nope) have brought in solid box office receipts.

Related: DC Universe’s Swamp Thing: Comic Book Storylines We Want to See

On top of that, the success of films like It, A Quiet Place, 2018’s Halloween, and The Conjuring show that general audiences can be motivated to show up for a horror movie. Ti West’s X (2022) and Pearl (2022) movies, part of the X trilogy (which will end with MaXXXine), are also great examples of horror movies that did well for their budget and saw massive amounts of critical and audience acclaim. Horror is seeing its Renaissance era, and it would be intelligent to take advantage of that. Swamp Thing is a story that could very easily fit within the same conversation as the aforementioned films.

However, the financial success of a horror movie, potentially more than any other genre, is very reliant on word of mouth. If a horror film is going to bring out a larger audience, it needs to get people talking. While many superhero movies are able to bring out a huge audience regardless of their quality, a horror movie needs to genuinely be great if it is going to break through into the mainstream. Because of that, the success of a Swamp Thing movie will heavily rely on the quality of the film itself, how scary it is, and whether it has anything new to say or bring to the genre.

Talented Voices Could Elevate The Material
20th Century Studios

What has been observed is that people don’t want paint-by-numbers horror as much as they want horror with something to say. Of course, there is still room for mindless flicks, as seen in the heavily criticized Terrifier films. Could this character even be used in a way that transcends cheap scares? It would all depend on the efforts of Gun and Safran, everyone else working on the film, and how dedicated they are to making the new DCU work in a way it never could before.

Thankfully, Gunn and Safran are demonstrating a commitment to telling genuinely good stories with their new DCU films. They have committed to not rushing a movie into production just to meet a pre-determined release date. They won’t start shooting a movie until it has a story and script they are legitimately happy with. Though that may seem like an obvious move, it’s actually one that is becoming increasingly rare in the world of blockbuster filmmaking these days.

On top of that, bringing in a talent like Mangold to direct Swamp Thing is a great start. He has an excellent track record with films like Ford v Ferrari, 3:10 to Yuma, and Walk the Line, in addition to having already delivered one of the best comic-book movies of all time with Logan. If Gunn and Safran are able to seal the deal with Mangold to direct a horror movie adaptation of Swamp Thing, they will be set on a good trajectory to develop the DCU into something truly special.