As he puts the finishing touches on Indiana Jones 5, Oscar-nominated filmmaker James Mangold is in early discussions to develop and potentially direct Swamp Thing for DC Studios, Above the Line has learned.
Mangold tweeted an image of a Swamp Thing comic book panel in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, one day after new DC heads James Gunn and Peter Safran unveiled the studio’s film and television slate.
Mangold’s involvement has been rumored for weeks, even before the presentation, though insiders at the time said it was unlikely to happen due to the director’s busy schedule. However, Mangold’s recent Twitter post would seem to indicate otherwise, as he knew full well what he was doing — and how the internet would interpret it — when he posted.
Though he’s attached to direct several other projects, including a Buster Keaton biopic and an adaptation of Don Winslow‘s crime novel The Force, the most active project on his development slate appears to be the untitled Bob Dylan movie that is slated to star Timothée Chalamet.
Mangold has been nominated for two Oscars — one for co-writing Logan, the other for producing Ford v Ferrari. Mangold is obviously no stranger to comic book movies between Logan and The Wolverine, though what makes him such a great filmmaker is his ability to work within any genre, from crime (Copland) and drama (the underrated Heavy and Girl, Interrupted) to thriller (Identity) and action-comedy (Knight and Day). He’s even made a Western (3:10 to Yuma) and done a music biopic (Walk the Line). The man can literally do it all, so even though Hollywood loves to put artists into a box, he has managed to demonstrate a remarkable range over the course of his 30-year career.
A representative for Warner Bros. did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
