Posted in: Movies, Warner Bros | Tagged: Clayface

Clayface Is "One Of The Best Scripts That We've Read"

Peter Safran says they know Clayface isn't as well known as other Batman villains, but "we think his story is as deeply resonant, thrilling, and even more terrifying."

The Clayface movie is the one that everyone raised an eyebrow about when it was announced, and it turns out that James Gunn and Peter Safran had zero plans to make a movie based on this character, as Gunn admitted during a recent press day covering all of the upcoming DC projects. "We had no plans making a Clayface movie," said Gunn (via The Hollywood Reporter), but Mike Flanagan "turned in a script, and it's one of the best scripts that we've read." It's an example of how the studio is trying to focus on having a solid script above everything else, which is not a bad idea.

"We are writer-driven," declared Gunn. "We are not going to greenlight or put anything into production until we are happy with the script….It is hard enough making a good movie with a good script, it's almost impossible to make a movie with a script that you're writing on the run."

As for Clayface, Safran said, "Clayface isn't widely known as Penguin or Joker, but we think his story is as deeply resonant, thrilling and even more terrifying." (via Deadline) The reports about Matt Watkins being in talks to direct seem to be confirmed as well, but it seems that the ink isn't quite dry on that contract yet. Or it wasn't when this conference took place; things can change quickly.

When the announcement came down last month about a Clayface movie, it was the kind of announcement that used to get people rolling their eyes, but maybe that isn't the case anymore. We're still learning more about the story for this one, but the rumors about a "Hollywood horror story, according to our sources, using the most popular incarnation of the villain – a B-movie actor who injects himself with a substance to keep himself relevant only to find out that he can reshape his face and form, becoming a walking piece of clay" seem to be true still. The reports about location also seem to be true, so whether or not this LA-based story will actually be shot in LA remains to be seen.

Clayface Came Out Of Nowhere

We just found out that a Clayface movie was reportedly in development with a script by Mike Flanagan, and the early reports said that the project was set to start shooting this year. We don't have any other information about the film, but Flanagan has mentioned Clayface as a possible project he'd like to do. In a now-deleted tweet from 2021, Flanagan said, "Well I've wanted to do a Superman movie since I was a kid, but I would also be really keen to do a standalone Clayface movie as a horror/thriller/tragedy." We don't have a director, star, or any other information about the project yet, but things must be moving along behind the scenes because Warner Bros. has given the film a September 11, 2026 release date. The studio had a lot of success in early September, as recently as last year with Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

Early reports said that Clayface would have some sort of heavy role in The Batman Part II, but Gunn did what he did best and shut that down on social media. He replied to a fan asking if a post about Clayface and Scarecrow having roles in The Batman Part II was true, and he denied it, saying, "Firstly, no. Secondly, couldn't be the case as there hasn't been a first draft of a script." Initially, it seemed like the wording was a little vague, and he could be referring to a script for Clayface, but Gunn later clarified that the script for The Batman Part II was not finished.

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