James Mangold Reportedly In Talks To Direct ‘Swamp Thing’

James Mangold may be bringing Swamp Thing to the big screen.

After the Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny director cheekily posted an image of the character (drawn by Bernie Wrightson) on his Twitter account late Tuesday night, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed he is is “early talks” to helm the DC Studios project. The site’s sources claim Mangold is a big fan of the character, created by Wrightson and writer Len Wein in 1971, and approached DC Studios CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran with a few ideas. That said, the “early talks” designation means they are still discussing possible storylines and tone — the use of the term “talks” or “final negotiations” would mean they were ironing out his contract and compensation. As THR notes, the director is already signed to make a Bob Dylan biopic for Paramount, so scheduling the two projects could also be a topic of the early discussions.

As announced yesterday, Swamp Thing will be part of Gunn and Safran’s Chapter One initiative for the realigned DC Cinematic Universe (or DCU). Said to be an exploration of the character’s “dark origins,” the film will also establish part of the universe’s supernatural corner.

The character has appeared in films twice before: Wes Craven’s 1982 film and Jim Wynorski‘s 1989 campy follow-up, The Return of Swamp Thing. The character also starred in a 1990s USA Network series (played by Dick Durock of the previous feature films) and the much-missed DC Universe series in 2019 (played by Derek Mears). Presumably, the new film will once again detail how scientist Alec Holland is murdered in the Louisiana swamps and resurrected (possibly) as its vegetable-matter protector.

Swamp Thing is not currently scheduled for release.