Marvel’s Daredevil Star Eyes DCU Switch — Here’s Why He Wants to Be Swamp Thing
Daredevil’s Kingpin Vincent D’Onofrio has his sights on DC’s Swamp Thing, embracing a fan casting and calling the monster an intense role he’d love to tackle just as James Mangold’s film takes root in early development.
Vincent D'Onofrio wants to trade New York rooftops for cypress knees. After a fan pitched him as Swamp Thing, he basically said: yep, that intense, tragic monster is right in his wheelhouse.
Why D'Onofrio wants the muck monster
At a superhero event in Los Angeles, D'Onofrio explained what draws him to DC's resident swamp god of heartbreak, and his answer tracks with the kind of roles he crushes.
"I have always been attracted to people that are broken, and he is like broken. He is not only heartbroken, but his whole life is broken into a million pieces. And it is like the Hunchback of Notre Dame. He is not attractive, he lives in a swamp, it is tough, you know? And he is in love, and that is an incredible thing."
He also called Swamp Thing's story deeply emotional and, at times, genuinely touching. In other words: not just a creature feature, but a full-on tragedy with moss.
Could it actually happen?
D'Onofrio just stepped back into Kingpin for Marvel's 'Daredevil: Born Again,' which the studio has already renewed for Season 3 (yes, already). Whether that schedule would clash with a Swamp Thing shoot is unclear. It is also a very hypothetical problem right now, because Swamp Thing is still early-days.
Where Swamp Thing stands right now
- It is in early development at DC, with James Mangold attached to direct.
- DC co-CEO James Gunn said in July 2025 that Mangold had not delivered a script yet.
- It is being framed as a standalone project that still counts as part of the first chapter of the DCU.
- There is no release window on the calendar.
Inside baseball: with no script in Gunn's inbox and no date in sight, this is a slow simmer. But D'Onofrio wanting to play a lovesick, broken-down swamp poet? That fits him almost too well. If and when Mangold's version takes shape, do not be shocked if this fan casting keeps popping up.