DC Studios Confirms the Current State of ‘Swamp Thing’ After Cancellation Report

There is still hope for Swamp Thing‘s DCU future as news of the film’s cancellation has been greatly exaggerated, according to James Gunn. Ever since the news broke that a previously announced DCU title had been canceled, fans have been speculating which film it might have been. A recent interview with Gunn the other day had many speculating that the canceled film in question might have been James Mangold’s Swamp Thing, given Gunn’s comments that the film had a writer and director attached.

However, James Gunn has debunked the claims that Swamp Thing has been canceled. Speaking with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused Podcast, via DCU Updates, Gunn confirmed Swamp Thing is still in development and that he recently spoke with James Mangold about the film. What is holding Swamp Thing up? James Mangold’s other projects include the development of a Star Wars film centered on the birth of the Jedi Order. Mangold was also filming and promoting A Complete Unknown through 2024. Gunn said:

“We talked to James the other day. No he hasn’t delivered a script. He’s been distracted by his billions of movies. But i think you know, we are talking about it again.”

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What is the Canceled DC Film?

With Gunn confirming that Swamp Thing is still in development, and a script wasn’t written, that raises questions again about what the canceled film could be. All the signs do seem to point to Sgt. Rock, which was set to be directed by the Challengers duo of Luca Guadagnino and Justin Kuritzkes, and written by the latter. Development was progressing quickly before the film was reportedly halted in April 2025, with shooting locations cited as the reason for the delay. Gunn did say the script wasn’t where it needed to be, but still did confirm Sgt. Rock is in development.

The other two titles are The Authority and The Brave and the Bold. The Authority never had a confirmed writer or director attached, although Matthew Vaughn was rumored to be eyed for the directorial role. That film reportedly has faced problems in the script development, and Gunn might have shifted away. As for The Brave and the Bold, the movie does have an unknown screenwriter attached and Andy Muschietti set to direct. However, despite Gunn’s comments that Matt Reeves The Batman will not be part of the DCU, rumors still continue to circulate that Robert Pattinson’s Batman might join the DCU. It still appears to be a guessing game involving which DCU film might have been canceled.

However, the good news is that Swamp Thing is still in play. It has already been confirmed that Alan Moore’s groundbreaking Swamp Thing run will be a major inspiration for the film, suggesting the DCU film will be equally horrific and beautiful. With both Clayface and Swamp Thing being horror movies, they can play up the monster elements in what the DCU is calling the “Gods and Monsters” chapter of their shared universe. Despite Swamp Thing getting a feature film before Batman, he has often been regarded as a lesser-known cult hero in the DC Universe. Now, though, he has a chance to be bigger than ever as part of this growing, and so far successful, shared universe.

Source: DCU Updates (X)