Earlier this year, Vincenzo Natali, the director of “Splice” and “Cube” had said that he would love to make a movie based on Alan Moore’s run on the Swamp Thing comic book.
However, complicated rights issues are blocking that from happening. Natali has told MTV News, “Unfortunately, there is no ‘Swamp Thing’ movie in the works right now because of all the legal entanglements involved with that particular property. I’m told it won’t happen any time soon.”
He continued on to say, “Everyone wants the Alan Moore version,” he said. “[But] it’s tricky because Alan Moore has very negative feelings toward the film industry … he’s not shy about it. I honestly don’t even know all of the complexities of the legal issues surrounding it, but I know they are complex.”
“It’s really unfortunate, because in my mind, Swamp Thing is one of the great DC characters. In particular, the Alan Moore version of Swamp Thing is so fascinating and totally original, unlike anything you’ve ever seen in a movie before.”
“I’d like to do it, but it ain’t going to happen soon,” he concluded.
However, Swamp Thing isn’t the only comic book property that he’s interested in. Natali offered that he would like a chance to make a movie based on the Canadian super hero team, Alpha Flight.
“For those who don’t know, Alpha Flight is a Canadian superhero group and it was drawn by one of my favorite Marvel artists, John Byrne,” he added. “He’s a genius.”
Natali stated that he’s neither approached Marvel about an Alpha Flight movie, nor has Marvel approached Natali, but the idea of a superhero group with ties to a country outside the U.S. appeals to him.
“I thought that would be interesting, to give a little Canadian angle on the superhero mythology,” he explained. “It’s an interesting group and it had a lot of different members, so you can take it in a number of different directions. I think it would be cool.”
As interesting as it may be, the current flood of comic properties making the jump to the big screen makes him pause.
“To be perfectly honest, I’m a little intimidated right now,” said Natali. “I feel like the world is slightly overcrowded with superheroes, and maybe I’d like to wait a little while before putting my toe into those waters.”
Alpha Flight may not be the world-renowned superstars of comic books, but they are a pretty cool group of characters. I’m all for seeing a movie with this team if you have Sasquatch, Guardian, Vindicator, Snowbird, Puck, and Box. And you have to have Box. I think that Alpha Flight is under rated. And I would like to see someone take on an Alpha Flight project that highlights these characters and pushes them to the top.
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