Despite doing well with critics and having barely gotten started with its first season,
Swamp Thing has gotten the axe at DC Universe.
From debunked rumors to behind-the-scenes drama, here's a look at everything that led
to this comics adaptation's quick cancellation.
The first sign that the series was stumbling came even before the first episode aired on
DC Universe in late-May, 2019.
In mid-April it was reported production on Swamp Thing was being shut down early and
that the show's first season, originally planned for 13 episodes, was being whittled down to
10.
There was no word on exactly why Swamp Thing's first season was cut short, but the news certainly
didn't boost fan confidence.
Neither did a now-deleted Instagram post from one of the series' cast members.
Virginia Madsen, who played the troubled Maria Sunderland in Swamp Thing, wrote on her Instagram
page:
"I'm beyond sad.
What a terrible decision.
We have been cut to the core by those who have never set foot into the Swamp."
Even executive producer James Wan admitted to being baffled by the decision to sink Swamp
Thing, although he still encourages fans to check out the first season.
In an Instagram post, Wan wrote:
"Don’t really know or understand why #Swampthing was cancelled, but I can tell you this all
the cast and crew, and producing/writing team poured their hearts into this.
Really proud of everyone’s hard work.
Go watch episode 2, and immortalize these 10 episodes.
Swampy deserves it."
One of the earliest and most widespread speculations about the show's sudden cancelation was made
by Movies.com writer John Gholson in a series of now-deleted tweets.
The story, which has since been debunked, is that Swamp Thing was cut short because
of an accounting error blamed on the state of North Carolina, where the series was filming.
"It's probably just an accounting error.
It is not an accounting error.
Well, it could be.
It is not an accounting error."
The story went that Swamp Thing's budget was $80 million and that North Carolina through
a program meant to encourage filmmaking in the state had promised to cover $40 million
of the production costs through state grants.
Then, according to Gholson's story, someone in the North Carolina government messed up
and Swamp Thing's production was only granted $12 million of the promised $40 million.
So, short $28 million, the Swamp Thing production closed up shop.
"Okay, my bad.
Shut it down.
Shut it down!
That's it."
But shortly after Gholson's story began to circulate, ScreenRant reported that his accounting
error theory simply wasn't true.
Swamp Thing was granted $12 million for its first season's production.
They were also allowed a separate grant of $4.9 million for the pilot episode.
There was never a discussion of North Carolina picking up half the bill for Swamp Thing.
According to some, the cancellation of Swamp Thing doesn't only impact that series, but
could threaten every other original DC Universe show.
In June 2018, AT&T completed its acquisition of Time Warner, of which the DC Universe streaming
service is a part.
When Deadline reported Swamp Thing's cancellation, the outlet pointed out that, quote "DC Universe
is being reevaluated following the completion of AT&T acquisition."
The implication seems to be that if WarnerMedia is going to have its own streaming service,
a separate DC Universe streaming platform might be considered redundant.
If that's the case, then producing new original series in the interim could be considered
a waste.
"Fudge."
Commenting on the cancellation of Swamp Thing on the horror website BloodyDisgusting, writer
Brad Miska speculated that Swamp Thing had become, quote, "the first of probably many
scapegoats."
The problem, Miska wrote, is that DC Universe was experiencing problems and something had
to give.
Comparing it to AMC's handling of the horror streaming service Shudder, he criticized DC
Universe for giving up too soon.
Miska certainly could be right.
Perhaps suffering in Marvel's shadow on the big screen has made Time Warner executives
more skittish in the face of anything less than complete and undeniable success.
With some time having passed since Swamp Thing's cancellation, it now seems like the series'
premature ending could be chalked up to the oldest showbiz roadblock of all:
"Apparently they've got some real creative differences."
The Playlist reported that the call to shorten Swamp Thing was a creative decision, and not
part of a reevaluation of DC Universe's performance, which they said was, quote, "outpacing expectations."
SlashFilm likewise reported the season truncation was due to "creative reasons."
One of the few sites to offer any specifics in their update was BloodyDisgusting, who
claim their source told them the creative differences in question were about the nature
of the series.
According to the site, some people behind the scenes wanted Swamp Thing to be a horror
series…
"It was very important for all of us that it be sort of, that it be grounded more in
the horror genre."
...while others wanted a "weekly procedural."
We're not sure how anyone pictures a swamp monster might be able to dust crime scenes
for fingerprints — but okay!
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