When Lightyear Entertainment planned their 35th anniversary 4k UHD release of The Return of Swamp Thing for February 7, there’s no way they could have known that James Gunn would announce a new Swamp Thing film the week before. Perhaps the Green knew, and orchestrated this all along. Be that as it may, yes, before ubiquitous CGI, before superhero movies dominated the box office, and even just before Tim Burton’s Batman changed everything, Swamp Thing made his second film appearance.
Both Swamp Thing and Batman had producers in common: Michael E. Uslan and Benjamin Melniker. They convinced DC Comics to sell them the rights to both characters at a time when no one thought there’d be much interest. Wes Craven directed the first Swamp Thing in 1982, blurring the line between horror and more mainstream fare, much like the comics did. At the time, Swamp Thing the comic had been cancelled, and if not quite forgotten, definitely not in the public’s mind. Original co-creator Len Wein used his editorial powers to time a comics revival with the release of the film, and The Saga of the Swamp Thing was just fine until a relatively unknown British writer who prefers not to be named blew the whole thing up and into a new level of popularity.
Guess what? Uslan and Melniker had the rights to use whatever elements were created for Swamp Thing, no matter if they came along after the first film. So director Jim Wynorski, himself a fan of the comics, signed on for a sequel, the above-mentioned The Return of Swamp Thing. Stuntman/actor Dick Durock returned in the role, given an impressive costume for the time — one that looks a little more mobile than Michael Keaton’s suit in Batman. MGM musical star Louis Jordan returned as Anton Arcane, and Heather Locklear joined as Arcane’s stepdaughter Abby. As was the plan, from The Return of Swamp Thing blossomed an animated mini-series, a toy line, Greenpeace commercials, and enough interest for a TV series on what’s now known as Syfy.
Not bad for a low-budget adaptation of a high concept horror hero.
There’s no getting around it — The Return of Swamp Thing is sillier than Craven’s film, by design. Wynorski was told to make it more family friendly, and it does have moments that are 100% for kids. It also has a few moments that walk the line into now uneasy territory, but was strangely okay by 80s movie standards. Somehow Wynorski managed to bring in some of Alan Moore and Stephen Bissette’s additions to the mythos and made them… lighthearted?
Lightyear Entertainment granted us access to an exclusive preview clip, giving Planeteers a good look at Durock’s suit in action — and broad daylight — with a taste of that kid-friendly tone.
The full 4k package has several interviews and commentary tracks that provide great history into bringing Swamp Thing to the screen. It even includes the Greenpeace commercials. Sadly, not the cartoons.
We’ll have a conversation with Wynorski up in a bit. As for James Gunn’s plans, all that’s known is that director James Mangold (Logan, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny) is in talks. While we’d love to see Derek Mears return as Swamp Thing from the DC Universe/CW/HBO Max series, the actor made a public acknowledgement yesterday that he hasn’t heard a thing, either. Maybe this will tide you over…
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