After Joker: Folie à Deux moves horribly and HBO series The Penguin makes a splashWarner Bros. and DC moving the dice again with another project based on the villain Batman. Get ready for a Clayface movie written by a horror maestro Mike Flanagan.
That name alone was more than enough to raise many ears when the project was first rumored in early 2023as Flanagan's output across TV and film in recent years has been nothing short of spectacular. He quickly shot down the rumors, perhaps because nothing was set in stone yet, but it seems these reports were onto something.
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Through Differentwe've learned that the film has been given the go-ahead, with shooting expected to begin as soon as 2025, which means the script from Flanagan is pretty much locked up at DC Studios. The filmmaker, however, is far too busy with new tasks The Exorcist and Carrie too other projects he is doingso it looks like someone else is leading.
Although surprising at first, this is a smart move from Warner Bros. and DC Studios on the heels of The Penguin loved by critics and audiences alike. And even though Joker 2 was a huge failure, the original was a huge hit back in 2019 that warranted more testing in Gotham City's villain arena. In addition, Flanagan's name carries a lot of weight, like the half-declaration Sgt. Rock movie with Luca Guadagnino.
This is yet another piece of news that confirms DC Studios co-head James Gunn's commitment to taking on all kinds of no-nonsense projects, such as the Bane & Deathstroke movieinto production along with much safer bets like his Superman reboot. Clayface is even part of his animated series Creature commandosthe first official chapter of the DCU, which begs the question of whether this movie will work with that version of the character or if it's an Elseworlds story in the vein of The Batman, The Penguin, and the past Joker flicks name
Clayface was introduced in 1940 as a failed actor wearing a clay-like mask. Later, he gained transformation abilities that were first introduced in 1961. This character was kept around in most of the following versions of the character, so even though Flanagan and producers Matt Reeves and Lynn Harris are aiming for a more grounded approach, chances are this film will lean heavily towards horror.
