From King to Clay, Mike Flanagan has been announced as the writer for the upcoming Clayface movie, which would give the Batman villain his biggest showing ever.
Clayface – who was first introduced in Detective Comics #40 way back in 1940 – has been rumored to be a villain in The Batman 2. While not confirmed, this would be an interesting set-up for the character to really break out in the DC Universe, especially going off of the success of The Penguin, which showed what can really be done with a villain when they’re allowed to be fleshed out. That said, considering the character is a shapeshifter, he might actually have trouble fitting into the gritty Gotham depicted there. As such, Flanagan re-launching him through his own movie might be the best avenue.
This brings up some other points: not only who will portray Clayface but how he will be portrayed. Even if you get someone like Dave Bautista – who was expressing interest years ago (although it seems a little lazy to me) – will the studio be better served going the mo-cap route?
Flanagan has been on board for a Clayface project for a bit now, with speculation really ramping up last year. While it has taken a while to get any confirmation on the project, that we have it now drives up some serious anticipation for the future of not just the Batman franchise but DC as well. With The Penguin proving a massive hit with critics, fans and the awards circuit, we’re all clamoring for more. Of course, DC will have to be smart here and be careful in selecting which of their rogues gallery they feel important to explore at such a level.
But we’ll still have a while to go and a lot of speculation to give, as Mike Flanagan is extremely busy (what else is new?), currently devoting time to his planned Exorcist movie, which is currently slated for 2026. He, too, will go back to another Stephen King work, Carrie, bringing it to the small screen.
What do you hope to see with the Clayface movie? Who should play him and what should the visual approach be? Give us your thoughts in the comments section below!