Ever wonder why one of your favorite filmmakers hasn’t made a film about your favorite character? On a recent Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything), director Alex Garland answered more than a few questions from fans. As a prolific fantasy, horror, and science fiction filmmaker Garland was bound to get a comic book question.
So it came as no surprise that he was asked: out of all comic book characters who would he want to make a film about? His answer is simple.
The director of Dredd, Ex Machina and the upcoming Annihilation is also the writer of 28 Days Later. A wonderful mix of gore, violence, and adult fantasy. All characteristics that are part of the foundation of Vertigo Comics’ character: Swamp Thing.
Alec Holland is most famous for his lengthy run by comic genius Alan Moore. Saga of the Swamp Thing was Moore’s first major work in the United States. It’s an incredible story with a great mix of existentialism and mysticism. Superheroes need to get weird if they’re going to remain relevant and fresh. Using characters like Swamp Thing to create a new kind of superhero film is exactly what audiences need. A hero unlike anything seen before.
Sounds like Swamp Thing.
The Avatar of the Green has had a great couple of years. Writer Charles Soule wrote an amazing run before heading to Marvel. Tom King just released a Swamp Thing comic with artist Jason Fabok. The Swamp Thing special also included the final story by co-creator Len Wein and artist Kelley Jones. The big green is getting plenty of love these days. With good reason, Alec Holland has a wondrous and horrible journey. The kind of story that would be fantastic in the hands of Alex Garland.
Swamp Thing isn’t coming to theaters anytime soon. But if Garland is looking to get into the DCEU, Justice League Dark needs a new director! But with the recently announced The Kitchen and the Joker origin story, there looks to be plenty of room for the Swamp Thing to get another big screen appearance!