Clayface: James Gunn promises, “It’s all Mike Flanagan’s story.”

Back in 2021, filmmaker Mike Flanagan let it be known on social media that he was interested in making a “standalone horror/thriller/tragedy” movie that would center on the Clayface character. A while after that, he confirmed that he had met with veteran DC movie producer Jon Berg to pitch a “horror-leaning” take on Clayface, as well as ideas for the DC properties Scarecrow, Justice League Dark, and Constantine. The meeting “kind of went nowhere.” But then, in March of 2023, Deadline broke the news that Flanagan had scheduled another Clayface pitch meeting, this time with DC Studios bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran. And at the end of last year, it was announced that Flanagan is officially writing a Clayface movie that will be part of the DC Universe film franchise that’s being overseen by Gunn and Safran. A few months ago, Speak No Evil director James Watkins was hired to take the helm… and then, in a surprising turn of events, since Clayface was only greenlit based on the strength of Flanagan’s script, Drive writer Hossein Amini was brought in to do what has been referred to as a complete rewrite. But if you’re worried that the Flanagan flavor is being lost, Gunn wants to assure fans, the movie is still telling Mike Flanagan’s story.

During an interview with i09 a while back, Gunn admitted that he had no intention of making a Clayface movie as part of the DCU until he saw Flanagan’s script. He said, “I didn’t plan on making a Clayface movie. Mike came in. He pitched this wonderful idea. I was like, ‘Damn, I can’t believe you got me to want to make a Clayface movie.’ But he’s got to write the script and who knows how that’s going to work. He goes and he writes the script. First draft is great. Second draft is even better. And then I’m like, ‘Let’s do it.’ So we found a place for it because if there’s quality stuff, we can find a way to work it in.“ Batman: The Animated Series made its debut back in 1992, and the fourth and fifth episodes of the show were a two-parter called Feat of Clay, which showed “the transformation of a disfigured actor into the villain known as Clayface.” In an interview with ComicBook.com, Flanagan confirmed that his script was inspired by those episodes of Batman: The Animated Series.

Deadline reminds us, “Clayface is shape-shifting villain in the Batman comics and got his introduction as part of Detective Comics #40 in June 1940. The original Clayface was a moderately successful actor who adopted the identity of a character he’d portrayed in a horror pic after turning to crime. Clayface has a body seemingly made out of clay and has appeared over the years in various films, series, animated works, video games and other forms of media.”

Watkins and Amini are working to get Clayface ready to start filming on October 1st, aiming for a September 11, 2026 theatrical release date. Filming will take place at Warner Bros Leavesden studio in the U.K. James Gunn and Peter Safran are producing the film alongside The Batman director Matt Reeves and Lynn Harris. Chantal Nong serves as an executive producer. Earlier this week, it was announced that Tom Rhys Harries (White Lines) has been cast as the title character.

A fan brought up the subject of the Amini rewrite to Gunn on Threads by asking, “How much of Mike’s story are you planning to keep?” Gunn answered, “Huh? It’s all Mike’s story. That’s WHY we’re making this movie, because we loved it. Any changes as the shooting script is finalized are minor. I’m a Flanafan myself.“

Are you glad to see that James Gunn says Mike Flanagan’s Clayface story is intact and Hossein Amini’s changes are minor? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.

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