James Mangold is in talks to direct “Swamp Thing” for DC Studios.
Insiders claim that the 59-year-old filmmaker is a big fan of the supernatural hero and approached new DC Studios bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran with his idea for the movie.
Mangold's previous work in the superhero genre includes writing and directing “Logan”, the third “Wolverine” film starring Hugh Jackman that is regarded as the pinnacle of the “X-Men” franchise.
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However, the director has a busy schedule as he is helming “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny”, which will be released in May, and the Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown” – which will star Timothee Chalamet as the legendary singer-songwriter.
The director's interest in “Swamp Thing” comes shortly after Gunn and Safran announced the first 10 film and TV titles within their rebooted DC Universe.
The pair explained that the films will make up Chapter 1 of the DCU, which they are calling “Gods and Monsters”.
Safran has revealed that the film will "investigate the dark origins" of the DC Comics character through the prism of horror.
Gunn added: "This is a much more horrific film, but we'll still have Swamp Thing interact with the other characters."
“Swamp Thing” was created by the writer Len Wein and horror artist Bernie Wrightson and made his first appearance in the comics in 1971.
He first appeared on the big screen in the 1982 flick “Swamp Thing”, which was directed by horror legend Wes Craven.
The character also headlined a short-lived TV series in 2019.