Three local productions applied for grant funding with the state, which included figures on what kind of financial and job impact they have in the region

WILMINGTON -- “Swamp Thing” is an elemental hero born from the murky depths, but that doesn’t mean he comes cheap.

The Warner Bros. production, set to air on its DC Universe streaming service later this year, is the largest series to film in the state in years and its employment numbers reflect that monstrous footprint, according to an application filed with the state's film grant program.

The grant program has $31 million annually in funding to dispense to qualifying productions, and is currently overseen by the N.C. Department of Commerce.

In its application, "Swamp Thing," which is based on the comic book, estimated it would employ 597 crew members, 521 of which would be North Carolina residents.

Additionally, it cited plans to hire 3,250 background actors and extras during the duration of the shoot, which is set to go through May. Of those anticipated hires, 3,235 were to be local residents.

The application lists the estimated spending in the state to be $19,999,968, with an estimated grant funding return of $4,999,992, pending a post-production audit.

It should be noted, however, the application lists the request is only for the pilot episode.

This is an important distinction to make because, while “Swamp Thing” is already an ambitious project, spending nearly $20 million on a pilot is substantial.

For reference, Fox’s “Sleepy Hollow,” the most recent local project of the same genre, also submitted its pilot separately in 2013 and reported only $7.4 million in local spending (with a $1.8 million tax credit).

To the production’s credit, EUE/Screen Gems Studios executive vice president Bill Vassar has said "Swamp Thing" will trump the Headless Horseman in size and scope.

“It is more than anything any other show’s first season has done here,” Vassar said in January.

The steep pilot budget likely accommodates significant pre-filming production and set design, specifically a massive swamp set built on the studio lot’s Stage 10, which houses a water tank.

'Reprisal' and 'Words'

“Swamp Thing” is not alone in its ambition.

Hulu’s revenge drama series “Reprisal” shot its pilot episode in town last fall and has since been picked up for a full 10-episode season that will go before the camera this summer.

The A&E Networks production listed 450 crew members on its grant application, citing only five would come from out of state. Total background extras were estimated at 756, all local.

In total, the pilot carried a $10.1 million price tag, with $9.3 million estimated in local spending. It's grant funding request was $2,315,000.

Coming in with an almost identical financial application is LD Entertainment’s “Words on Bathroom Walls,” an independent feature film about a teenager struggling with a schizophrenia diagnosis and first love that shot last spring.

Its budget came in at $10.6 million, with $9.4 million spent in North Carolina. The state previously reported the film's grant funding request came in at $2,349,415.

The production sought to hire 120 crew members, 110 of which were local, and an estimated 500 local background extras.

None of the grant funding requests will be awarded until a final audit is done following production. Information on last year's grant funding awards will be available in May.

Reporter Hunter Ingram can be reached at 910-343-2327 or Hunter.Ingram@StarNewsOnline.com.