Will Clayface be a body horror movie? “It’s going there.”
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 we recently learned that Tom Rhys Harries (Kandahar) has signed on to star in the film. Filming is now underway – and one of the cast members has confirmed that this movie is definitely going to have some body horror elements.
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. Surprisingly, 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. Gunn has assured that the script is still “all Mike’s story” and any changes are minor.
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.”
According to Nexus Point News, Tom Rhys Harries’ character is Matt Hagen, who “debuted in Detective Comics #298 in 1961 and was created by Bill Finger and Sheldon Moldoff. Hagen was originally a treasure hunter who transformed into Clayface after an encounter with protoplasm.” Many expected him to be playing Basil Karlo, who “debuted in Detective Comics #40 in 1940 and was created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane. In the Golden Age, Karlo was a disgraced actor who donned the costume of a character he portrayed known as Clayface and sought to murder the crew and cast of the remake of a film he once starred in.”
Naomi Ackie (I Want to Dance With Somebody) takes on the role of Caitlin Bates, Matt Hagen’s love interest and doctor, while Max Minghella (Spiral: From the Book of Saw) is reportedly in the mix to play John, a detective and fiancé to Caitlin Bates, who’s suspicious of his fiancée’s relationship with Matt Hagen/Clayface.
Speaking with Collider, Minghella said he was excited to have the chance to work with Watkins, as he’s “a die hard fan” of the director’s 2008 film Eden Lake. He feels that Watkins is uniquely suited to make Clayface because “if you look at his whole resume, he’s worked in all these different spaces that sort of equal the movie we’re making, so I can’t imagine anybody else doing it. I’m learning a lot from working with him, which is always my favorite thing. He comes and talks to us after everything we do, every take. I could be clicking a keyboard and he comes in and talks to me afterwards, and there’s just an attention to detail, which is really lovely.” When asked if there will be body horror elements, Minghella said, “I think I can say safely it’s going there.” He added that it’s “a proper movie” with “a really fantastic script.”
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