After news broke earlier this morning regarding the cancellation of DC Universe's Swamp Thing, a new report states the real reason the plug was pulled on the live-action series comes down to an accounting error made by the state of North Carolina.The initial report claims WarnerMedia executives did not like the direction of the show, leading them to cancel the series. However, Movies.com writer John Gholson reports North Carolina promised WarnerMedia a $40 million tax rebate that ended up getting diminished because of a paperwork error. The $40 million would have covered half of the first season's budget, which is estimated to be at $80 million.The error also reportedly played a factor in the Season 1 production ending early back in April, with the season's episode count trimmed from 13 to 10. Once the error was discovered, WarnerMedia shut down production since the studio would be paying more for the series than it originally thought.With North Carolina's adjusted tax break now sitting around $13 million, it doesn't make financial sense for WarnerMedia to continue producing Swamp Thing. Star News Online reported on the North Carolina accounting error in April, and followed it up with another article citing how much the state can actually commit to television filming.
All 10 episodes of the series will still air weekly on DC Universe, with the finale set for Aug. 2.
Executive produced by James Wan, Mark Verheiden, Gary Dauberman, Michael Clear and Len Wiseman, Swamp Thing will premiere sometime on May 31 on the DC Universe. The supernatural horror series stars Crystal Reed, Andy Bean, Derek Mears, Jennifer Beals, Henderson Wade, Will Patton, Virginia Madsen, Jeryl Prescott, Henderson Wade and Kevin Durand.