SWAMP THING Casts Ian Ziering as Blue Devil

Swamp Thing is about to encounter a weirdness magnet.

Deadline reported that the upcoming DC Universe series Swamp Thing, based on the DC Comics humanoid plant elemental, has cast Ian Ziering as Daniel Cassidy, better known to DC Comics fans as the superhero Blue Devil.

According to the article, the role of Blue Devil will be recurring and is described as "Stuntman turned movie star, Daniel Cassidy became semi-famous after playing the demonic Blue Devil.  But now, eight years later, Cassidy finds himself living out his days in frustration, pining for his former fame while on a collision course with destiny."

In addition, DC Comics released the following movie poster for The Adventures of Blue Devil, which features Cassidy as Blue Devil along with his Blue Devil comic book series supporting characters Sharon Scott and Wayne Tarrant.  Tarrant appears as the supervillain Bolt in the poster, possibly hinting at the character's appearance on Swamp Thing.

Swamp Thing follows Abby Arcane (Crystal Reed) as she investigates what seems to be a deadly swamp-born virus in a small town in Louisiana but soon discovers that the swamp holds mystical and terrifying secrets.  When unexplainable and chilling horrors emerge from the murky marsh, no one is safe.

Ziering, 54, is best known as Steve Sanders on the TV series Beverly Hills, 90210 and as Fin Shepard in Syfy's Sharknado series of TV movies.  In addition, Ziering has voiced the role of Harry Osborn in 2003's Spider-Man: The New Animated Series and Mason Forrest in the animated series Batman Beyond.  His films include Endless Love, Savate, No Way Back and Domino, and he's appeared in episodes of The Muppets, Defiance, CSI: NY, Biker Mice from Mars, Son of the Beach, JAG, Godzilla: The Series, Parker Lewis Can't Lose, Married...with Children, and Melrose Place.

Created in 1984 by Dan Mishkin and Gary Cohn, Blue Devil first appeared in The Fury of Firestorm #24 as Daniel Cassidy, a special effects wizard and stuntman hired to create and play the title character in the movie Blue Devil. Cassidy created a full-body costume with a hidden powered exoskeleton and built-in special-effects devices.  When two of his co-stars accidentally freed a demon named Nebiros, Cassidy used his costume to drive the demon back, but not before being blasted with mystical energy.  After the fight, Cassidy found that the blast had permanently grafted the Blue Devil costume to his body.

Cassidy quickly found himself embroiled in repeated adventures and conflicts with supervillains, as his newfound status turned him into a "weirdness magnet".  After failing to find a way to remove his costume, Cassidy started to enjoy his new lifestyle, and became more and more comfortable as a superhero, even accepting a place in the Justice League of America.  He gained a sidekick when Eddie Bloomberg, his former gofer and devoted fan, designed a suit similar to his own and became the teen superhero Kid Devil.  Eventually, Cassidy moved into "The House of Weirdness" with Cain the Caretaker as his superintendent.

Blue Devil was later employed as a bouncer at the Oblivion Bar, an interdimensional place for magical beings, and there he was recruited by Ragman, Enchantress, and Detective Chimp to fight against The Spectre in the event series Day of Vengeance.  With his enhanced demonic strength, he was the heavy hitter of the Shadowpact, a team of magical heroes devoted to fight for every "lost cause".  Feeling necessary for the first time in a long time, he devoted himself to the team.  One of their goals is to help look over the wild magic of the "Tenth Age", a direct result of the events of Day of Vengeance.

In 2011, DC Comics rebooted its continuity with a new timeline known as The New 52.  In this new timeline, Blue Devil was reintroduced busting up a drug deal and running into Black Lightning, who was also there for the same reason.  The two heroes both revealed they were trying to take down crime lord Tobias Whale, but Black Lightning didn't believe Blue Devil.  A fight ensued, with Blue Devil quickly getting the better of Black Lightning.  He attempted to make him listen, but was interrupted by the Los Angeles police, who were ready to open fire.  Black Lightning took the opportunity to run off and Blue Devil managed to escape as well.  During the Forever Evil storyline, Blue Devil was among the magic users that were captured by Felix Faust and Nick Necro in order to use them as part of a weapon that would defeat the creature that destroyed the Crime Syndicate's Earth.

This will be the first time the character will appear in live-action, although Blue Devil has appeared in the animated series Justice League Unlimited (voiced by Lex Lang), Young Justice and Justice League Action.

Swamp Thing is currently expected to debut on DC Universe sometime in May 2019.