DC’s upcoming Swamp Thing movie has made some significant progress since being announced by James Gunn and Peter Safran as part of the new DC slate.
On April 7 during the Star Wars Celebration, Director James Mangold confirmed during a red-carpet interview with Collider that he is set to direct and pen the script for Swamp Thing in the newly revealed DCU.
The film will take place during chapter 1 of the new DC cinematic reboot led by newly appointed DC Studios Co-Presidents James Gunn and Peter Safran.
Mangold tells the site, “The truth is, I’m writing both right now, and who knows what’s going to happen and what’s gonna blossom first or second? So there’s your thing, I’m doing Swamp Thing, there’s your scoop. It’s not a rumor, it’s happening. I put it online.”
During the Lucasfilm expo, Mangold also confirmed that he would be stepping forth and dipping into the Star Wars universe with a new project to explore the origins of the Jedi order which will take place 10,000 years in the past before the events of the Skywalker Saga.
Currently, it’s not known which project Mangold will release first, but the director confirmed that he’d be working on both films simultaneously; however, whichever one he finishes first will presumably head into production first.
Following the interview on social media, DCU co-president CEO James Gunn also expressed his support:
Of course when we started charting the course for the DCU one of the first people I talked to was the super talented @mang0ld about writing and directing his passion project Swamp Thing. #SwampThing https://t.co/LoXZCMjrKy pic.twitter.com/WFMHQ60Aae
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) April 7, 2023
As of now, the DCU is set to kick off this August with the release of Blue Beetle, after the events of The Flash, which DC and WB are looking to ramp up marketing, and will be officially shown to critics at Cinemacon on April 25, while set for a North America theatrical release on June 16, 2023.
In other DCU news, the official cast for Creature Commandos was revealed and confirmed by Gunn, along with Superman Legacy, set to hit theaters in 2025, and even a Peacemaker season 2, which Gunn confirmed on Twitter to a fan that the hit The Suicide Squad Max spin-off series will take priority and could potentially release after Superman Legacy releases.
What about the second season of Peacemaker? Is it still even happening? 😥☮🤘🦅🧜♂️
— Zy🐦 (@ThomasZygula) April 7, 2023
Mangold’s next project is Indiana Jones and The Dial Of Destiny, which is the final installment of the iconic franchise. The film is currently slated for a theatrical release this summer on June 30, 2023.