NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 25: (EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE) Virginia Madsen visits the SiriusXM studios on October 25, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images)

Virginia Madsen Joins Swamp Thing as Maria Sunderland

November 2, 2018

According to Deadline, Academy Award nominated actress Virginia Madsen (Candyman, Sideways, Her Smell) has signed on as a series regular in DC Universe‘s upcoming Swamp Thing. She joins Crystal Reed as Abby Arcane, Maria Sten as Liz Tremayne, Jeryl Prescott as Madame Xanadu and Jennifer Beals as Sheriffe Lucilia Cable.

Madsen is set to play the role of Maria Sunderland. She traded in her privileged upbringing for the swamp of Marais when she married local business magnate Avery Sunderland. But, due to Avery’s life-time obsession with the swamp, it has caused a rift in his relationship with his wife, Maria. With the return of Abby Arcane, Maria’s long-time grief over the death of her daughter Shauna has reawaken. Her grief will led her into the dark supernatural mysteries emerging from the swamp.

The live-action DC Universe adaptation of the classic antihero originally created by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson will be executive produced by Len Wiseman (Sleepy Hollow) who will also direct the pilot. Mark Verheiden (Battlestar Galactica, Netflix’s Daredevil) and Gary Dauberman (It) are attached to co-write the series and act as showrunners, with James Wan (Aquaman) set to executive-produce the series alongside Verheiden, Dauberman, and Michael Clear.

Swamp Thing made his comic book debut back in 1971 and has maintained his position as a staple of the DCU since then, including seminal runs written by Alan Moore, Brian K. Vaughan, Mark Millar, and Scott Snyder. The character was previously adapted into a feature film from Wes Craven in 1982, which spawned a sequel seven years later, and a USA Network series that ran for three seasons in the early ’90s. Dick Durock took on the role in both the films and the series. An animated Swamp Thing series also debuted in the early ’90s but only aired five episodes.

Should Swamp Thing be picked up to series, it would join Titans in the live-action sector of DC Universe and other original series (albeit animated) Young Justice: Outsiders and Harley Quinn.

Swamp Thing comes from James Wan’s Atomic Monster in association with Warner Bros. Television. The pilot is set to premiere in 2019 on the DC Universe digital subscription service.

(Photo Credit: Getty Images)