DC’s Swamp Thing might have ensnared James Mangold as director

It seems DC fans will be fed well for the next several years as news about the future of the DCU continues to roll out. The newly announced slate of films will take the studio, headed by James Gunn and Peter Safran, through the year 2025. This first “chapter,” titled “Gods and Monsters,” will conclude with a big-screen Swamp Thing, which may have landed a big-name director in James Mangold.

The Hollywood Reporter has the scoop: Mangold is “in discussions with the Warner Bros. arm” about helming the horror flick. Talks are still in the “early stages,” but sources for the outlet say Mangold has “approached Gunn and Safran with his ideas.” He’s reportedly “a massive fan of the character and the stories.” Shortly after the slate was announced, Mangold posted an illustration of the character on his Twitter, retweeted by Gunn, which is as close to a confirmation as we’ll probably get at this stage.

Of course, if James Mangold wants to direct your comic book movie, it makes sense to let him. Mangold is Oscar-nominated for Logan, one of the most critically acclaimed superhero films of all time. He’s currently busy with the upcoming Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny before heading into his Timothee Chalamet-led Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown. Luckily, he has a bit of time before Swamp Thing’s 2025 release date.

Swamp Thing the character was previously seen on screen in the 1982 film by horror auteur Wes Craven (and its sequel, directed by Jim Wynorski). More recently, there was a short-lived Swamp Thing television series on the short-lived DC Universe streaming service. The character also appeared in the latest season of the beloved animated comedy Harley Quinn, voiced by Sam Richardson.

The new film has been described as “a very dark horror story and the origins of the monster who is Swamp Thing,” per Gunn’s video announcement. “And although it’s tonally outside of the rest of the DCU, it will still feed into the rest of the stories,” he added. No other directors (or any other cast and crew) have been announced for the rest of DC’s slate, but at least we definitely have something to look forward to in 2025.