Movies
Vincenzo Natali Talks Dark Desire to Bring ‘Swamp Thing’ Back to the Big Screen
I’m not exactly sure the actual context of this conversation as I can’t get the video to play for the life of me, but apparently Cube and Splice director Vincenzo Natali is looking to take his dark storytelling to Silver Pictures as he’d like to(?) take on the latest incarnation of Swamp Thing, once rumored to be coming in 3-D. Is this a campaign piece or is something real going down? Check out what he had to say below and you tell us.
Speaking with MTV News during this weekend’s WonderCon in San Francisco, Natali said he’d love to make a “Swamp Thing” movie based on Alan Moore’s classic run of the series.
“There are two incarnations of Swamp Thing — both of them are quite wonderful,” said Natali. “The first one was by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson, which was a more traditional sort of retake on classic, James Whale-style, Universal Studio horror films. Then Alan Moore reinvented the character in the early ’80s, and that’s actually the version that’s a little more interesting to me.”
“[Swamp Thing] kind of became… I don’t want to call him an ecological superhero, but he became an ecological character quite unlike anything you’ve ever seen before,” he explained. “It’s a comic book, but it delves into some very interesting stuff, both psychological and philosophical.”
It was reported last August Joel Silver’s Silver Pictures would be bringing the creature back to the big screen in 3-D. This is a project they’ve had in development for FIVE years now, but hopefully we’ll see some progress soon.
The story begins when a toxic chemical transforms a research scientist into a monstrous mass of vegetation.
Brendan Fraser is back for the upcoming fourth installment in The Mummy franchise from directors Radio Silence, and Michael Johnston (Obsession) is now in talks to join him.
The Hollywood Reporter lets us know tonight that Michael Johnston is in “early talks” to join The Mummy 4, which will release in theaters on October 15, 2027 via Universal.
Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, and John Hannah will reprise their iconic roles as Rick O’Connell, Evelyn O’Connell, and Jonathan Carnahan in the upcoming movie.
Radio Silence duo Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett (Ready or Not, Scream 5-6) are directing from a script by David Coggeshall (Orphan: First Kill).
Plot details are being kept under wraps at this time, but the brand new sequel is expected to disregard the events of the third movie, in which Rachel Weisz did not appear.
“It’s just really beautiful and scary and sweeping, and it’s awesome,” Gillet teases. Bettinelli-Olpin adds that the film “has all of the heart and the character that you could hope for.”
A remake of the classic Universal monster movie that took an action-adventure approach, The Mummy was released in 1999 and grossed $417 million worldwide. It was followed by The Mummy Returns in 2001 and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor in 2008.