Candyman‘s Virginia Madsen has been added to the cast of DC’s Swamp Thing TV series as a key series regular.
Madsen is set to star opposite Crystal Reed (Gotham, Teen Wolf) as Abby Arcane, a CDC researcher who investigates a deadly swamp-born virus in the small town of Houma, Louisiana.
She will play Maria Sunderland, the wife of the currently-not-yet-cast villain Avery Sunderland. She is described as someone who “traded in her privileged upbringing for the swamps of Marais when she married local business magnate Avery Sunderland.”
Here’s the rest of her character description: “Avery’s lifetime obsession with the swamp has driven a wedge between him and Maria. Her poised existence is shaken further when the return of Abby Arcane reawakens a deep grief over the loss of Maria’s daughter, Shawna, drawing her into the dark supernatural mysteries emerging from the swamp.”
Swamp Thing, which is the latest drama series from the DC Universe, is hailing from James Wan’s Atomic Monster production Company and Warner Bros Television. It will premiere on the DC Universe digital subscription service in 2019. An exact date has not yet been confirmed.
Len Wiseman (Sleepy Hollow, Lucifer, Underworld) is set to direct the pilot episode of the series. Wan is executive producing alongside his Atomic Monster colleagues Michael Clear and Rob Hackett. The script is being written by Mark Verheiden (Battlestar Galactica, Daredevil) and Gary Dauberman (It, It Part 2), both of whom are also executive producers.
Also known as Dr Alec Holland, Swamp Thing was created by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson, and first appeared in ‘House Of Secrets #92′ in July 1971. He’s a swamp monster that resembles an anthropomorphic mound of vegetable matter, and fights to protect his swampland home and humanity from supernatural and terrorist threats.
According to THR, the TV series will follow “what happens when CDC researcher Abby Arcane returns to her childhood home of Houma, Louisiana, in order to investigate a deadly swamp-borne virus. There, she develops a surprising bond with scientist Alec Holland — only to have him tragically taken from her. But as powerful forces descend on Houma, intent on exploiting the swamp’s mysterious properties for their own purposes, Abby will discover that the swamp holds mystical secrets, both horrifying and wondrous — and the potential love of her life may not be gone after all.”
This isn’t the first time the comic has been adapted for the screen. Other imaginings include Wes Craven’s 1982 film and Jim Wynorski’s 1989 sequel, the 1990 USA Network live-action TV series from Joseph Stefano that ran for three seasons, and the Fox-produced animated series from the early 90s.
Swamp Thing doesn’t yet have an air date. Get all the latest superhero news with every issue of SciFiNow.