D C C O M I C S '
SWAMP THING
P L O T S Y N O P S I S
In a private facility located in the Louisiana swamplands, idealistic scientist Alec Holland and his wife, Linda, developed a Bio-Restorative formula that would solve food shortage problems around the world. Unbeknownst to them Anton Arcane, an avatar of The Rot, infiltrated the facility and sabotaged their work which resulted in an explosion, killing the two scientists. Blown into a nearby swamp by the explosion, Alec Holland’s body bonds with the elemental force known as The Green, which connects him to all forms of plant life on the Earth and their collective minds known as the Parliament of the Trees. Alec Holland’s mind and consciousness are merged with the vegetation in the swamp, transforming him into an avatar of The Green, a Swamp Thing. The Parliament of Trees explain to Swamp Thing what happened to his former-self, that he was attacked by Anton Arcane, an avatar of The Rot which is an elemental force associated with death, decay and rotting of all living things. The Rot is sanctioned by the Parliament of Decay.
Following the Holland’s deaths, their former employer Avery Sunderland, the CEO of the scientific research firm known as TSC (The Sunderland Corporation) sends Alec Holland’s former colleague Matthew Cable, to investigate their deaths. Discovering they were killed at their laboratory, Cable questions the nearby residence which leads him to the Arcane estate, the home of Anton and his niece, Abigail. Anton is reluctant to answer any of Matthew’s questions about the Holland’s and slams the door in his face. Abigail however, is more than happy to. As Matt and Abby talk outside, Anton uses his knowledge of sorcery given to him by the Parliament of Decay to create a means to further spread The Rot and seize control of the other elemental forces, The Clear (a force which connects to all aquatic life and oceanic elements on the planet) and The Green.
Swamp Thing attacks Anton Arcane after finding out about him sabotaging his former self's work. Catching Anton by surprise, the Swamp Thing easily overpowers him in his fit of rage. It’s only because of interference from Anton’s niece Abigail and Matthew Cable that the Swamp Thing stops, retreating back into the swamp. After witnessing the attack, Cable deduces that the Swamp Thing must be the creature responsible for the Holland’s death. Matt reports to his superior, General Sunderland with this new information who grants him permission to engage with the creature, by any means necessary.
Seeing the Swamp Thing’s affection for his niece as a weakness, Anton decides to exploit her, embroiling her in his scheme to win the elemental war. While Abigail previously resisted the call of The Rot, her uncle tries to draw it out, infecting her. Swamp Thing seeks counsel from the Parliament of Trees about how to stop Anton and save Abby from being infected by The Rot and eventually become an avatar like her uncle. The Parliament reveals The Rot have long shared a link with the Arcane heritage, making Abigail especially susceptible to it’s calling. The Swamp Thing’s strong connection to The Green grants him the strength and power to protect her from The Rot, but only for so long.
At a loss, Swamp Thing confronts his former colleague and friend Matthew Cable, revealing to him that while he’s not Alec Holland, he’s infused with his consciousness. He asks if he can help him stop Anton which Matt agrees to, however, he doesn’t have much knowledge of supernatural elements so he contacts a former associate of his, John Constantine, an occult detective and con man from Liverpool. Using his occult abilities, John morphs Matt into a raven so he can scan Anton’s estate and provide navigation for the two as well as his whereabouts. Swamp Thing and Constantine find Anton holding Abigail hostage. As the raven, Matt distracts Anton just long enough for Swamp Thing to rescue her from her uncle. With the combined efforts of Swamp Thing and Constantine, the two are able to overpower Anton, seemingly killing him. However, with his connection to The Rot, each fatal blow Anton is dealt simply makes him stronger.
Running out of options to stop Anton, Abigail offers to take her father’s place as an avatar of The Rot and bring back a balance to the elemental forces. Abby destroys her uncle, consuming all his power and succumbing to The Rot, becoming their new avatar, the Black Queen. As the Black Queen, Abby manages to fight off the killer impulse to attack Swamp Thing despite the Parliament of Decay’s behest. Knowing this is the only time they’ll have together, the two share an embrace, briefly overpowering the voices of their respective parliaments. Soon after Abby is consumed by The Rot and enveloped by its tendrils, a cocoon of rotting flesh is formed around her to complete her transformation. Swamp Thing, Constantine, and Matt (now back in his human form) leave the estate after doing everything in their power to save her. Constantine returns to England after being informed about supernatural going-ons during his absence, Matt returns to TSC to debriefed about his findings by Sutherland, and Swamp Thing returns to The Green seeking further knowledge about his purpose from the Parliament of Trees.
S T A R R I N G
Matt Damon … Alec Holland / Swamp Thing
Ben Mendelsohn … Anton Arcane
Mackenzie Davis … Abigail Arcane
Ben Whishaw … Matthew Cable
Ewan McGregor … John Constantine
Tommy Lee Jones … General Sunderland
Mireille Enos … Linda Holland
W R I T T E N & D I R E C T E D B Y
Alex Garland
Alex Garland
- After coming upon Ex Machina several months after its release, I was completely blown away by not only how clever and sophisticated it was, but aesthetically how beautifully it was designed, crafted and presented. Garland very quickly became one of my favourite filmmakers. A frequent collaborator of Danny Boyle's, Garland wrote The Beach, 28 Days Later and Sunshine for the Oscar-winning director. I think his sophomore feature Annihilation due out later this year will further show his capabilities and give some more insight on what he could bring to the table if he were given the reigns to Earth's Elemental.
C A S T I N G N O T E S
Matt Damon // Alec Holland
- Most well known for his portrayal of Jason Bourne throughout the Bourne series, his role as the super spy really showed how talented he is with minimal dialogue, acting mostly through his expressions and movement. While playing the character of Swamp Thing would require a lot of motion capture which I haven’t seen Damon really dabble in, based on his past work I’m confident he could pull it off.
Ben Mendelsohn // Anton Arcane
- Mendelsohn is great at playing characters you just love to despise as seen in his recent work in Rogue One as Krennic, Dagget in The Dark Knight Rises and his critically acclaimed role as Danny Rayburn in Netflix’s Bloodline. He was actually rumoured to be in the running for the role of Arcane way back in 2015 but unfortunately the project never got off the ground.
Mackenzie Davis // Abigail Arcane
- Davis got her breakout role in AMC’s Halt and Catch Fire back in 2014. She was also a standout in Ridley Scott’s star studded The Martian, which is no easy feat when you’re surrounded by the likes of Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels and Sean Bean. She was also rumoured for the role of Domino in Fox’s upcoming Deadpool sequel a few months back, but in my opinion she’s perfectly suited to the role of Abigail Arcane.
Ben Whishaw // Matthew Cable
- Whenever Whishaw is cast in a supporting role he really elevates whatever project he’s involved. He was a particular standout out in 2012’s Skyfall as Bond’s gadget master Q. I also really liked his role small but integral role in Ron Howard’s In the Heart of the Sea.
Ewan McGregor // John Constantine
- McGregor is such a versatile actor, just look at his dual role in the latest season of Fargo! However it’s his role as Renton in Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting and it’s sequel T2 Trainspotting that makes me so convinced that he’d perfect as a somewhat seasoned and wary John Constantine. While he’d only have a supporting role in this film, having an actor of McGregor’s calibre opens up the option for him to headline a Hellblazer film down the line.
Tommy Lee Jones // Avery Sunderland
- Tommy Lee Jones is an expert at playing figures of authority, seen most comically as Agent K in the Men in Black trilogy, personally my favourite role of his. However his recent turn as CIA Director Robert Dewey in Jason Bourne is what helps illustrate how he could pull of the character of General Avery Sunderland.
Mireille Enos // Linda Holland
- This is really small role for someone of Enos’ talents and I almost thought it’d be a waste having her here as she’d only feature in the opening of the film but I couldn’t think of someone better for the part. She first caught my eye in World War Z as Karin Lane but to see her front and centre I’d recommend checking her out in the TV series The Killing.
F O L L O W E D B Y
Hellblazer
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