DC’s Clayface movie is steadily taking shape, with Speak No Evil director James Watkins molding the feature film around the fan-favorite Batman villain. Watkins’s appointment to the gig comes after months of searching for the right director to adapt the project’s script, which was written by horror aficionado Mike Flanagan (Midnight Mass, The Haunting of Hill House).
According to sources, studio co-head James Gunn met with Watkins on Thursday for a final presentation that landed Watkins the job. Next comes the drawing of contracts, scheduling, casting, and all that good stuff. Gunn notoriously had reservations about bringing Clayface to the silver screen. However, Flanagan’s concept and script were so good that Gunn could not pass on the opportunity.
While there’s no shortage of candidates when picking from Batman’s extensive rogue’s gallery, the shape-shifting villain Clayface would make a fine choice. Truth be told, he’s one of my favorite Bat-villains of all time. His story is quite tragic, and his ability to morph into any person or mold his body into any weapon makes him a formidable foe and then some. While the concept might not be as “grounded” as Todd Phillips’ execution of The Clown Prince of Crime, I think Flanagan’s script will be unique.
It remains unclear if Flanagan’s Clayface will feature Basil Karlo, the mediocre actor whose interaction with a mystical clay transforms him into the monster we know and love, or Matt Hagen, a scuba diver who finds a mysterious pool of protoplasm that turns his body into a malleable clay-like weapon and means of disguise. Flanagan’s script could introduce a new Clayface, though I could see him leaning into the Basil Karlo version. Previously, Dave Bautista (Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Dune: Part Two) expressed interest in playing Clayface, but that was years ago. Still, Bautista has excellent ties to James Gunn through their work on Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, which could give Bautista an edge in the audition department.
Are you excited about James Watkins getting behind the camera for DC‘s Clayface movie? Did you see Speak No Evil, the psychological drama starring James McAvoy, Mackenzie Davis, and Scoot McNairy? Let us know in the comments section below.
