One of the DCU's founding fathers shut down rumors and speculation that a major Chapter 1 movie has been abandoned. DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran unveiled 10 movies and shows in the Chapter 1 slate in January 2023, since which, multiple DCU projects have been shelved indefinitely. One project that remains in the pipeline, but has scarcely received updates, is the Swamp Thing movie, which had recruited Logan director James Mangold to write and direct from the get-go. However, the Oscar nominee has since tackled Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown and is now developing the Timothée Chalamet-fronted heist thriller High Side for Paramount and a Star Wars movie for Lucasfilm, raising concerns about when or if he will turn his attention to the DCU.
Well, over 3 years later, Peter Safran finally revealed some good news for Swamp Thing ahead of Clayface in an interview with Collider. The DCU boss revealed that the movie is "moving forward" and they are "waiting on a draft" from Mangold, who told the studio that he was "ready now" after releasing A Complete Unknown:
“It’s moving forward. Literally, we're waiting on a draft. James Mangold’s a fantastic filmmaker — obviously one of our favorite superhero movies, but plenty of other great, great films. He was busy making his Bob Dylan movie with [Timothée Chalamet], so we were waiting for Mangold to come up for air, and when he did, he's like, ‘I'm ready now.’ And that was it.”
Deadline also quizzed Safran on Swamp Thing at the Clayface premiere, who noted that they are "excited" about the project, which has taken longer since Mangold was already attached because "you gotta wait for [his] window:"
"We're working on it, absolutely. The script is being written as we speak, but it's something we're excited about. All these things take time, particularly when you have a filmmaker already involved, you gotta wait for their window as well."
Mangold teased his vision for Swamp Thing is a "very simple, clean, Gothic horror movie" about this monster and sees it as somewhat "standalone." He added that he has long considered "making a kind of Frankenstein movie," perhaps hinting that his Swamp Thing will come with Mary Shelly vibes.
Will the DCU's Swamp Thing Actually Happen?
It's surprising to hear Peter Safran's comments indicate that Swamp Thing will be James Mangold's next directorial venture after A Complete Unknown. The director has been prepping High Side as a motocross-centric heist flick starring Timothée Chalamet that landed at Paramount in August 2025, leading to an overall deal at Paramount one month later, which seemingly wasn't set to impact Swamp Thing.
While many once expressed concerns that Mangold's Paramount deal would doom his chances of tackling Swamp Thing, it now works in the DCU's favor as the studio officially merged with Warner Bros. into Skydance this month.
Safran told IGN, when asked which DCU project will start filming next, that there are a "couple that are vying for that spot," and the promising updates on Swamp Thing certainly elevate its chances of being in contention. That said, Deadline recently reported that Swamp Thing is in early development as one of DC's 10 post-merger priority movies, signaling that it may be too soon for that.
Of course, having a script in the works doesn't usually mean much at DC Studios, as movies like The Brave and the Bold have been at the hurdle for years. But Mangold is an A-list director with a busy schedule who won't wait around for DC Studios, especially with High Side and a Star Wars blockbuster still on his horizon.
Fans ought to get some indication of Swamp Thing's development status in the near future, depending on how High Side moves forward. If Mangold takes his second Chalamet collaboration into production soon, that would push back Swamp Thing by several years until after High Side was finally released.
