Swamp Thing, the latest addition to the DC Universe service, has already been confirmed to include graphic violence. The latest buzz from the cast of the series though, which launches May 31st, is that the episodes could go to even more extreme lengths in referencing the property’s horror roots (so to speak), making the most of the premium platform’s adult content freedoms.
Derek Mears, who along with Andy Bean will play Swamp Thing and his human incarnation Alec Holland, commented:
“I heard, without giving anything away, I heard on the production side at one point a story from one of the upper echelon creators, or studio execs saying something like, ‘Wait, you’re going to do what on-screen? “They go, ‘That’s pretty…that’s really violent.'”
Good news, then, for fans of the original comic books, which were flexible enough to mix horror influenced by EC Comics alongside the philosophical depth of Alan Moore’s iconic take on the character in the 1980s.
Mears then goes on to remark:
“I would say, I’m a fan representing the fans, and going, ‘Yeah, I would tune into this 1000%. And the other thing, which I was really excited about, in my opinion, after watching the monitors of unfinished footage, just from the day of shooting is that the style and the tone feels very much like Seven, in a sense, like really dark and broody, and I’m excited.”
That’s not to say Swamp Thing will just be for gore hounds, with the romance between female lead Abby Arcane and the main character giving the series its emotional core. A recent teaser trailer also showed that the series will be faithful to the bittersweet tone of the Abby-Swamp Thing romance.
The addition of Swamp Thing to DC Universe’s lineup will hopefully continue the excellent streak of Titans and Doom Patrol in applying a darker touch to the company’s characters, without going full Zack Snyder. However, there have been rumblings of problems with the latest series, which shut down production last month and had its episode order cut from 13 to 10. Let’s hope this is just a blip though, and not a sign of deeper issues with the DC Universe roster, which promises Stargirl and Harley Quinn as upcoming shows in 2019.
