Is DCU's Swamp Thing related to Wes Craven's 1982 movie?

Following in the footsteps of Marvel’s dip into horror with Werewolf by Night, but not to be confused with Man-Thing, James Gunn announced an upcoming DCU horror project based on the character Swamp Thing and we explain its connection to Wes Craven’s 1982 film of the same name and discuss if Swamp Thing is a hero or not.

Other new movies and shows announced in the DCU alongside Swamp Thing include Creature Commandos, Waller, Lanterns, Superman Legacy, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, The Brave and the Bold, Booster Gold, The Authority, and Paradise Lost.

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Is DCU’s Swamp Thing related to Wes Craven’s 1982 movie?

No, the DCU’s Swamp Thing will not be connected to Wes Craven’s 1982 movie, however, both projects are based on the same DC Comics character.

Written and directed by one of the masters of horror, Craven’s superhero horror film followed scientist Alec Holland who transformed into the creature known as Swamp Thing after a laboratory accident caused by Anton Arcane.

Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson are the guys behind the creation of the character but Craven’s adaptation was so successful that a sequel, titled The Return of Swamp Thing, was released in 1989.

Swamp Thing also appeared in the self-titled television series in 1990 and then again in the 2019 reboot, alongside a cameo in the Arrowverse crossover, Crisis on Infinite Earths, aired on The CW.

Is Swamp Thing a hero?

Yes and no. A majority of the Swamp Thing variants go on to become heroes in DC lore and generally help out the other heroes at hand despite its frightening appearance.

In Alan Moore’s comic run of Swamp Thing, however, it is revealed that Alec Holland merged with a sentient swamp-like creature while trying to wash off the chemicals he was doused in during the laboratory accident.

It was revealed that this creature essentially took over the consciousness of Alec and morphed to look more like a humanoid in order to mimic the former scientist, which suggests the swamp creature doesn’t have the noblest of intentions.

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The DCU’s Swamp Thing will be a “dark horror story”

You can’t have the DCU’s chapter 1 be titled ‘Gods and Monsters’ without airing one of DC’s most interesting creatures.

Having undergone a reboot of his origin story once the character got popular, Swamp Thing’s comic-book run, especially the stories detailed by Alan Moore, is held in high regard with comic-book readers.

However, the DCU’s take on the character will introduce a classic horror approach to its movie, with Gunn explaining it as “…a very dark horror story and the origins of the monster who is Swamp Thing. And although it’s tonally outside of the rest of the DCU, it will still feed into the rest of the stories.”

By Jo Craig – [email protected]