For a while, it seemed that Swamp Thing fans could reasonably hope that the single season show might be revived on The CW, after it was aired on the network last year. There certainly appeared to be a big marketing push behind the series, which was originally part of DC Universe, and there was talk of HBO Max being open to continuing production. However, reports are now coming out that a new season of Swamp Thing is unlikely, although Mark Pedowitz, the chairman and CEO of The CW, has indicated a possible return for the character in other forms.
Speaking to Deadline, Pedowitz was doubtful that Swamp Thing would get a follow-up, but did acknowledge a potential way we could see the lead turn up on another property. The outlet’s take on his thoughts were as follows:
“Pedowitz revealed that Swamp Thing is unlikely to return to The CW but hinted that the DC Comics character may have a small chance of returning to the network in another form. Pedowitz said that the show performed well digitally for The CW Seed and was happy that it aired it, but would like to focus on shows such as Wonder Girl, Naomi or Painkiller.”
Pedowitz’s comments about possibly bringing Swamp Thing back as a guest on other CW shows are quite encouraging, albeit with a heavy dose of skepticism. Here’s what the executive had to say:
“It’d be interesting to have Swamp Thing on Legends of Tomorrow, that would be a fun way to do it, but I’m not sure that would happen.”
It’s a shame, then, that Swamp Thing will likely end up as a one-season-and-done experience, particularly given how we didn’t even get all of its planned episodes due to production problems. There did seem to some hope for a revival when the character appeared in last year’s “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” and The CW release brought in new audiences, but this is now looking to be premature. Of course, this doesn’t mean we won’t eventually get a Swamp Thing movie or a reboot, especially considering how DC have been lining up various supernatural-themed projects.
In the meantime, it’s good to hear that Naomi, Black Lightning spinoff Painkiller, and Wonder Girl are still on the cards at The CW, which is gradually reassembling its lineup of series this month after multiple COVID-19-related delays. Unfortunately, though, the different DC projects already in active development for television probably don’t help Swamp Thing‘s chances, and we may now have to accept that it has no realistic future.