James Mangold Opens up About the Upcoming ‘Swamp Thing’ Movie

James Mangold is a filmmaker who already proved that he can make an amazing movie, and he also isn’t unfamiliar with superhero movies and blockbuster franchises. His first touch with the superhero genre was when he directed 2013’s ‘The Wolverine,’ and four years later, he co-wrote and directed ‘Logan,’ which is arguably one the greatest superhero movies ever made. Mangold was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for ‘Logan,’ which is the only live-action superhero movie ever to be nominated for that award.

Two years after ‘Logan,’ Mangol made another big success with ‘Ford V Ferrari,’ a biographical sports drama starring Christian Bale and Matt Damon. The movie was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Mangol’s newest movie, ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ is set to be released in theaters soon, and you can already read our review on our sister site Fiction Horizon.

His previous experiences with Lucasfilm and the superhero genre will certainly help him as he’s simultaneously developing his next two movies; An untitled ‘Star Wars’ movie about the first Jedi for Lucasfilm and the upcoming ‘Swamp Thing’ movie for DC.

James Mangold teases ‘Swamp Thing’ as a Gothic horror movie!

Even though the latest ‘Indiana Jones’ installment received early mixed reviews, Magold surely proved his worth with the projects he directed so far, and we’re certainly expecting to see what he planned for his next movies set in ‘Star Wars’ and James Gunn’s DCU. But, as he uncovered in his recent interview for Variety, even though we’re talking about franchises here, Mangold doesn’t see his upcoming projects that way.

“While I’m sure DC views ‘Swamp Thing’ as a franchise, I would be viewing it as a very simple, clean, Gothic horror movie about this man/monster. [I’ve been] toying for years with the idea of making a kind of Frankenstein movie. Just doing my own thing with this, just a standalone.”

James Mangold for Variety

Swamp Thing is a humanoid/plant elemental creature that first appeared in ‘House of Secrets’ #92 in July 1971. The character was created by the writer Len Wein and the artist Bernie Wrightson. Swamp Thing is often associated with Justice League Dark, a group of magical superheroes in DC Comics.

The ‘Swamp Thing’ TV series premiered in 2019 on the DC Universe streaming service but was canceled after one 10-episode season. James Gunn announced the ‘Swamp Thing’ movie last February as one of the first five movies set in DCU. Mangold was announced to write and direct shortly after the movie’s announcement. While Mangold is presenting the movie as its own thing, ‘Swamp Thing’ will likely set up the character for more appearances in future DCU projects.

The plot of ‘Swamp Thing’ is still kept under wraps, and the release date is also TBA.

Are you looking forward to ‘Swamp Thing’? Do you think Mangold is the right director for it? Let us know in the comments.

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