Filmmaker J.J. Abrams recently entered a development deal with HBO Max, including a Justice League Dark television series for the upcoming premium streaming service. Ostensibly drawing from the DC Comics team of supernatural superheroes, the planned television show has been reportedly ordered straight to series by the digital platform. In addition to bringing many of the DC Universe's paranormal characters to television, including Zatanna and Deadman, the series also stands the chance to bring a major supernatural figure that couldn't quite make it with their own solo television series on DC Universe: Swamp Thing.
Ahead of its premiere last May, there was a lot of strong buzz behind DCU's live-action Swamp Thing television series. It was developed by James Wan and Gary Dauberman, the team behind the hit Conjuring cinematic franchise, with its pilot episode directed by Len Wiseman, who had previously helmed the Underworld film series. With a cast of seasoned actors and high fidelity with the comic book source material, Swamp Thing premiered to positive critical reviews, giving DCU its first bonafide horror series that didn't pull its punches with its graphic, terrifying content.
However, reports of troubles behind-the-scenes surfaced in the weeks leading up to the premiere, with the planned thirteen-episode order abruptly reduced to ten episodes in the midst of principal photography and the season finale rewritten to accommodate the changes. Days after the series premiere, DCU would announce that Swamp Thing had officially been canceled. While speculation mounted that this was due to changes tax credits for filming in North Carolina where the production was primarily based, WarnerMedia issued a public statement declining to elaborate on the mysterious circumstances behind the cancellation decision.
While it is highly unlikely that Swamp Thing will receive a new television series anytime in the foreseeable future, the planned Justice League Dark series offers a new opportunity for DC Entertainment to reintroduce Alec Holland and his elemental alter ego to new television audiences. Though the DCU series had stood separately from the rest of the shared television universe created for the platform, Swamp Thing has been a prominent member of Justice League Dark for years in the comic books and could appear in a support capacity on the upcoming television series.
Following his reintegration into the DC Universe at the conclusion of Brightest Day -- after years of standalone stories under the Vertigo Comics imprint -- Swamp Thing joined Justice League Dark in issue #19 of the first volume, by Jeff Lemire, Ray Fawkes and Mikel Janin. Swamp Thing's membership would continue on in the 2018 relaunch during the DC Rebirth era, with the elemental superhero continuing to serve alongside teammates like longtime frenemy John Constantine and Detective Chimp. While the HBO Max series may elect to steer clear of established television characters like Constantine and Swamp Thing to avoid association with other shows, Justice League Dark would certainly benefit from the inclusion of Alec Holland in some capacity.
For whatever reason other than the quality of the show itself, Swamp Thing couldn't quite make it in the long run as a solo television series. With Abrams developing a television adaptation of Justice League Dark, the supernatural figure has his best chance of returning to live-action television on HBO Max. After all, there are few characters on both incarnations of the team that are more recognizable than the elemental avatar, with Swamp Thing's inclusion likely giving the series more buzz than it relying on its lesser-known members.