Guillermo Del Toro Moving Forward With Supernatural DC Comics Movie 'Dark Universe' Featuring Swamp Thing And John Constantine
Not long ago word came down that Guillermo del Toro is working to produce a film, originally referred to as Heaven Sent and now tentatively called Dark Universe, that will feature supernatural DC Comics characters such as Swamp Thing and John Constantine. We didn't know much about the movie at the time, but now in a new interview del Toro talks about finally hiring a writer — who he refuses to name — and giving some more details about the potential character roster of the film. Fans of the Vertigo line from DC might be very happy with this one.
In the video interview below, del Toro talks up the writer he's been courting for some time, and says "right now the working title is Dark Universe."
Asked about his favorite character in the potential roster for the film, he runs down a lot of names, confirming many likely inclusions:
Swamp Thing, for me is a rock star. The Demon, Etrigan, is amazing. And then you go to Constantine, who I thought is an amazing creation — and I want to do the Constantine of the comics. Deadman is really a lot of work, but a lot of fun. [The Spectre is in,] yes...
Asked to elaborate about the full roster, he says "I can't say, because then you'll know the plot a little bit," but does mention/confirm Zatanna as well as the characters mentioned above.
He says the early movement for this goes back a bit, and talks briefly about some effort at DC to "make their universe cohesive," but that with Man of Steel WB and DC are more confident than ever. And the tone of that movie, combined with what Christopher Nolan established, is helping define the cinematic tone of DC.
The script isn't written and the film isn't greenlit, and so all the details above could be subject to change as the picture evolves.
Here's the interview from IGN: