Clayface is an unexpected addition to DC Studios' "Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters" slate. However, with Swamp Thing going nowhere fast, it certainly manages to make good with the "Monsters" part of the DCU's opening salvo.
Despite rumblings that Clayface was originally meant to be set in Matt Reeves' Batverse, it will be a DCU story and the first time we get to explore this version of Gotham City in live-action.
Midnight Mass, The Life of Chuck, and Carrie filmmaker Mike Flanagan wrote a first pass of Clayface for DC Studios before unexpectedly handing over his passion project to writer Hossein Amini and director James Watkins.
Talking to Screen Rant, Flanagan confirmed that The Batman wasn't his main source of inspiration for Clayface. "No, when we first started talking about Clayface, I hadn't seen what Matt [Reeves] was up to. So it went all the way back to "Feat of Clay", that incredible two-parter with Ron Perlman voicing the character, which was so formative for me as a kid," he said, referring to Batman: The Animated Series.
"Clayface, I had so much fun developing that with Matt, and then with James and Peter," Flanagan continued, with the mention of Reeves all but confirming that the project was once set in the Batverse. "It was one of the great kind of sadnesses of my career that I'm so sorry that when it came time to make it, and they wanted to make this movie right away, I wasn't available."
Explaining that his commitment to Carrie forced him to step away from Clayface, Flanagan confirmed that he hasn't seen an early cut of the movie yet and added, "They just wrapped, I'm dying to see it. I can't wait to see what they did with it. But for me, it all goes back to the animated series. Batman: The Animated Series is art."
It's interesting that James Gunn has talked so much about being filmmaker first, only to then forge ahead with Clayface without Flanagan at the helm. Why did that happen? Well, it's likely because DC Studios needed to add another movie to its 2026 slate when Sgt. Rock fell apart.
Despite that, the Doctor Sleep helmer had plenty of praise for Gunn's DCU and shared his belief that the DCU could "harmonize all of these elements into the DC Universe," and bring Robert Pattinson's Dark Knight into the same world as Superman and Clayface (however, he cautioned that, "I have no idea what the plan is for any of that").
The cast of Clayface will be led by newcomer Tom Rhys Harries, with Eddie Marsan, Max Minghella, and Naomi Ackie set to join him in undisclosed roles. The movie, written by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini and directed by James Watkins, is set to arrive in theaters on September 11, 2026.