Back in December of 2024, Clayface, a movie about the Batman villain of the same name with a script written by Mike Flanagan was announced and streamlined. It was given a release date of September 11, 2026.
Many fans found this news to be surprising. At the time, rumors were circulating that Clayface would be the villain, or a villain, of The Batman Part II, causing very few to suspect a Clayface movie was in the works. On top of that, there wasn’t and still isn’t an actor announced to portray Batman. Batman’s DCU movie The Brave and the Bold directed by The Flash’s Andy Muschietti also did not have a release date. The announcement of Clayface took nearly everyone by surprise because, frankly, it’s an odd but welcome choice.
Now, Mike Flanagan has spoken to ComicBook.com about his inspiration for the film, and fans are going to absolutely love it. When asked if the universally loved Batman: The Animated Series was a source of inspiration, particularly the two part episode featuring Clayface called ‘Feat of Clay’, Flanagan had the following to say:
“Of course it was. I mean that is the perfect [story]. ‘Feat of Clay,’ Ron Perlman, to me, that’s it. That two-parter knocked me out. The short answer is that is absolutely that is what inspired my script. That is the world I wanted to live in. Batman: The Animated Series when I was growing up was my Batman. As much as [Michael] Keaton was my Batman, The Animated Series really was my Batman.”
As far as the development of Clayface goes, Flanagan had less information to share, but still made the following comments:
“I don’t know what they’re doing with Clayface. I’m not directing it, and that filmmaker will need to make it their own. I know that they’re doing work on the script. I’m off doing other things now, I really hope it remains true to the spirit of what I wanted it to be. But it’s not my movie, so I’ll be in the audience with you, anxious to see how it comes out.”
Other writers have their hands in Flanagan’s script, as he expressed the hope that the end product isn’t too different from his original draft. Hossein Amini who worked on Obi-Wan and Drive is reworking at least some of the script. At the time of writing, there have been no official casting announcements for the movie which is expected to start filming in October of this year. Quite a few DCU movies have been plagued by delays and, if Clayface isn’t going to be one of them, casting announcements should start rolling in fairly soon.
In the episode of Batman: The Animated Series titled ‘Feat of Clay’, there is a large focus on Clayface’s backstory. It shows the character before he became a monster as a failed actor, the transformation, and the effects it has on him. Naturally, there is a confrontation with Batman, but it’s unknown whether Batman will appear in the movie.
Are you excited for Clayface? Let us know in the comments!