MAN-THING
If you plunged your hand into the chest of The Man-Thing you'd pull out a fist full of mud. If you did the same to screenwriter Hans Rodionoff you'd probably pull out comic books. They're in his blood.  He has, after all, tried to transform himself into a superhero on several occasions. The writer told Comics2Film that, as a youngster, he found a book in the library that he thought would help him transform into a werewolf. When the black arts failed him he turned to science, exposing an unsuspecting spider to TV generated radiation for a full 24 hours. Sadly, the irradiated arachnid refused to bite. While all this did little to empower the youngster as a superhero, his addiction to comics like Iron Fist, Spider-Man  and Werewolf By Night did send him down the path that eventually landed him the job as the screenwriter for The Man-Thing. Rodionoff eventually studied art with the hopes of becoming a comic book artist. However, an elective course in filmmaking sparked a new interest in movies. After college Rodionoff wrote, directed and produced Sucker: The Vampire for Troma Studios. He continued to write screenplays, eventually getting good notices for his script called Lovecraft, a pseudo-biographical look at the life of legendary horror writer H.P. Lovecraft. "I wrote a script that was basically like Stir of Echoes or Naked Lunch approach to Lovecraft's life. It takes the view that Lovecraft became the last savior of our world and ultimately the guardian that kept the Elder Gods from returning." That script got the writer in the door at Artisan, who he had recently learned had pacted with Marvel to develop a slate of movies, including his childhood favorites Iron Fist and Man-Thing. Rodionoff had followed artist Mike Ploog's work on Werewolf By Night to Man-Thing, and knew the swampy creature well enough to pitch an original take to Artisan. Although most fans know that Marvel's Man-Thing is very similar to DC's Swamp Thing, Rodionoff told C2F that he aims to make the Man-Thing movie significantly different from the Swamp Thing movies. "It's going to be a lot darker and creepier," Rodionoff said. "It's less about Adrienne Barbeau and more like Heart of Darkness in the swamp." The writer is loosely basing his screenplay on a story that appeared in Adventure Into Fear #16. The basic premise involves a developer who hopes to drain and develop the swamps of the Everglades. When the constant sabotage of equipment is punctuated by the murder of one of the crew, the developer takes up arms against the native Seminoles he believes to be responsible. But the locals know that there's something else lurking in the swamp...So will the Man-Thing be scientist Ted Salis underneath all the muck? Yes and no. "It will be a mystery to the characters and the audience," Rodionoff tells us. "There will be a lot of different ideas about what the Man-Thing is. Everyone will sort of agree that there's something lurking in the swamp but they don't know exactly what it really is. Certainly, the idea of a scientist who's body chemistry has mingled with moss and spores will be one of the legends."
Rodionoff is not disclosing any details about how the Man-Thing's will look in the film except to say that he has plans for a creature that will both please and surprise fans of the comics.
Rodionoff is thrilled to go from the ultimate fanboy to someone involved in the crafting of a comic book movie. "This whole coming about of Man-Thing, leading back to my early aspirations and comic books has been a very exciting, circular route that I didn't expect my life to take."
The writer wants comic fans to know they have nothing to fear from him. "Comics are where I come from. I'm going to do Man-Thing justice. I'm not just a snazzy-boy screenwriter who jumped in and decided to start writing comic book scripts. This is really where I always hoped I would be in the first place." And besides, whatever knows fear...