SWAMP THING: North Carolina Film Office Denies Reports That There Was Miscommunication Over Tax Breaks
Following the shocking cancellation of the DC Universe's Swamp Thing, the director of the North Carolina Film Office has chosen to comment on recent reports that there was miscommunication of tax breaks.
Yesterday, to the disappointment of many fans, we learned that the DC Universe's Swamp Thing was axed a little less than a week after it premiered. Since then, there has been a lot of speculation and reports on why the series will end after one season.
For a time, the explanation we kept hearing were that either a clerical error or simple miscommunication led to problems with the tax breaks Swamp Thing would have received for filming in North Carolina. However, Guy Gaster, the Director of the North Carolina Film Office, has now reportedly contacted CBR to try and clear up any misconceptions.
"The production team for Swamp Thing knew before production began that North Carolina would offer up to $4.9M in rebates for their pilot episode and $12M for the remainder of season one," Gaster explained before detailing the actual tax break amount Swamp Thing agreed to receive. "They accepted said offer and even signed a contract with the state with those figures. Per state legislation, the NC Film and Entertainment grant can only award up to $12M per season for a series. Per the program’s guidelines, pilot episodes are counted as their own series. In total, the program only receives $31M annually."
While Gaster's comments may clarify some of the financial questions we had, they still don't provide us with an exact reason for why Swamp Thing was cancelled. Of course, unless we here from someone at DC Universe or Warner Bros. directly, we probably won't get an answer any time soon.