Friday the 13th’s Derek Mears reportedly set to play Swamp Thing for DC

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

DC's Swamp Thing TV series, which will debut on their upcoming DC Universe streaming service, certainly has the potential to become something we may not want to miss. Swamp Thing co-writer Gary Dauberman (THE NUN) recently said that DC was giving them quite a lot of creative freedom, even encouraging them to go as graphic as they want and push the series into hard R territory. As it seems like the series will be diving into the horrific elements of Swamp Thing, it's only natural that they would step into the horror world in order to cast the title character.

According to Splash Report, who originally reported that Len Wiseman would be helming the pilot, it seems that Derek Mears will be stepping into the costume of Swamp Thing himself. The actor, best known for playing Jason Voorhee's in the 2009 reboot of FRIDAY THE 13TH, won't be playing Dr. Alec Holland (the man who becomes Swamp Thing), as that role has yet to have been cast. Take this with a grain of salt, but Derek Mears would certainly be a perfect fit for the giant elemental creature. Gary Dauberman has also said that the Swamp Thing suit will be a physical costume, which he claims looks incredible and will be "less of the 'man in suit' that you’ve seen in the movie and the other TV show."  As for that hard R tone, Dauberman has teased that fans of Alan Moore's run on Swamp Thing will know just how far they're going to go.

We always set out to make Swamp Thing as hard R as we could and go graphic with the violence, with the adult themes and make it as scary as possible. Because we’re doing it through the DC streaming service, they really pushed us, although they didn’t have to push hard, for us to go as extreme as we could. We really took our inspiration from the Alan Moore run in Swamp Thing, this landmark I think run. Fans of that series will know it gets pretty weird and extreme and scary. We really wanted to live up to that standard that Moore set up back in the ‘80s.

The series will follow Abby Arcane (Crystal Reed) as she "investigates what seems to be a deadly swamp-born virus in a small town in Louisiana but soon discovers that the swamp holds mystical and terrifying secrets. When unexplainable and chilling horrors emerge from the murky marsh, no one is safe." Described as smart and caring, CDC doctor Arcane's strong sense of empathy puts her at the center of a horrific life-threatening epidemic in her hometown, where she faces emotional demons from her past and a chance meeting with scientist Alec Holland takes her into a world of horror and the supernatural, and of the elemental creature known as Swamp Thing. Len Wiseman will direct the first episode of the series with Dauberman penning the script along with Mark Verheiden.