Picture Credits: Netflix
In Skydance Animation’s Swapped, the lush ecosystem isn’t the only thing that transforms. Audiences spend the film believing the wolves are the primary antagonists, only to discover that the true villain is someone much closer to home.
This is the second part of our conversation with the director, best known for his work directing Disney’s Tangled. In discussing the massive six-year creative evolution, we discovered that the film originally looked vastly different. Initially pitched as a story about human teenagers with superpowers, the project was completely overhauled to better serve its core theme of empathy. To avoid the predictable tropes of traditional body-swap movies and keep the audience guessing, the team decided to utilize entirely original species, most notably the Pookoo. However, to keep this fantastical world emotionally grounded, they drew heavily on nature documentaries. Greno detailed how the animation team built a fully functioning, biologically plausible ecosystem, mapping out everything from river flow and sunlight to the lifecycle of the “Booglefish,” which was meticulously modeled after real-world salmon.
That’s in addition to covering aspects about animation, the body-swapping, and working with the stars of the movie, Michael B. Jordon and Juno Temple, the latter of whom we were privileged enough to speak to!
Now, let’s dive into the ending. Boogle, as we discover midway through, is not who he says he is. Rather than an innocent fish, he’s the Firewolf, who was introduced at the very beginning of the film and thought to be long gone, albeit for the reason why the valley is as hostile as it is. By using one of the pods to transform back into his former self, he once again brings chaos to the valley, betrays Ollie and Ivy in the process, and sees the creatures of the valley, previously at loggerheads, unite.
Let’s talk about the twists. All along, we’re led to believe the wolves are the bad guys, but it was actually a friend. How did you go about planning that big twist, especially after it happened in such a dramatic circumstance on the waterfall?
Long story short, we needed a villain. For a long time, we didn’t actually have an actual villain in the movie. This idea of the Firewolf came in very late. Within the world of nature, it’s not Bambi where we have hunters, so we had a hard time figuring out what the motivation of a villain could be.
The Boogle actually existed before this twist happened, and he was always this beloved character within the studio. Everybody loved the Boogle the most. So for him to become the villain—oh, it just killed people. I mean that in the best way, and I think audiences are going to feel the same.
Cr: Skydance Animation/Netflix © 2025
I have to praise Tracy Morgan. His ability to seem completely lovable and innocent as the Booglefish in the first half made me completely miss the twist. But once he betrayed Ollie, he was incredibly menacing. How did you communicate this performance to him?
Tracy had signed up because he loves fish; he has many aquariums in his house. So the idea of him playing a fish, bringing his “Tracy-ness” to the character, was really amazing.
Then one day, we decided this was how we could put a villain into the movie. So I had to go to the recording session and tell Tracy he was actually the villain. I pitched the idea to him, and he was a little quiet for a second. He was looking at this image of the Firewolf, which is the most deliciously horrific thing you’ve ever seen. He looks at it and goes, “So I’m the villain?” I go, “You’re the villain.” And he goes, “Let’s do this.” He got up, went into the booth, and showed this range that is just incredible. You don’t see that twist coming because Tracy usually doesn’t play that kind of role, and he was so good at it.
What are the core takeaways you’d love for audiences to take home from the movie?
Swapped is a very entertaining movie, and we make our films to entertain audiences. That said, there is a message within it: we’re stronger together. It’s about the idea of opening your mind and gaining perspective as you go through life.
It’s understanding that we’re all in this world, and it’s not a black-and-white world—there’s a lot of gray. If I could put it out there that we’re stronger together and that people could open their minds to connecting with one another, then we’ve done our job.
What did you think of the big twist in Netflix’s Swapped? Let us know in the comments.
