MIDNIGHT MASS Creator Mike Flanagan Says WB "Didn't Bite" On His Idea For A Clayface Movie

MIDNIGHT MASS Creator Mike Flanagan Says WB "Didn't Bite" On His Idea For A Clayface Movie MIDNIGHT MASS Creator Mike Flanagan Says WB "Didn't Bite" On His Idea For A Clayface Movie

Earlier this year, Mike Flanagan (Midnight Mass) expressed interest in developing a movie focusing on Batman villain Clayface, and it sounds like the writer/director actually pitched the idea to WB.

By MarkCassidy - Oct 06, 2021 01:10 PM EST
Filed Under: Batman

It seems Mike Flanagan may have pitched Warner Bros. on a Clayface movie... and the studio wasn't interested!

Back in January, the Midnight Mass creator responded to a fan who asked if he had any interest in directing a DC Comics-based movie. Flanagan said he'd always been a big Superman fan, but "would also be really keen to do a standalone Clayface movie as a horror/thriller/tragedy."

As cool as this sounded, nobody really gave much thought to the possibility of Flanagan actually pursuing this concept, but the filmmaker has now shared a very interesting update. When asked if anything ever came of his Clayface idea, Flanagan Tweeted: "They didn't bite on that one, though I'm ready to go anytime."

Now, he could well mean that nobody from WB contacted him after his initial Tweet got some traction online, but it's just as possible he actually pitched them on this project and they turned him down - which isn't really that surprising. After all, the Studio has tended to avoid the Dark Knight's more outlandish villains for the most part (Batman and Robin being the exception, of course), preferring to keep the DC hero's big-screen adventures as grounded in reality as possible.

Check out Flanagan's Tweet below, along with the announcement that the horror maestro is set to develop an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher for Netflix.

Would you be interested in a solo Clayface movie from Mike Flanagan? Sound off in the usual place.

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noahthegrand
noahthegrand - 10/6/2021, 1:02 PM
Clayface definitely has the tragic origin for his own movie and Mike Flanagan, in my own opinion, is one of the best horror directors of the past few years
Himura
Himura - 10/6/2021, 9:42 PM
@noahthegrand - This is best incarnation of Clayface IMO. I hope to see some sort of live-action adaptation of it someday. But it would feel like a retread of Two-Face's story a bit.

santoanderson
santoanderson - 10/6/2021, 1:03 PM
Well, Warner Bros is run by fickle, micromanaging doofuses, Mike.
dracula
dracula - 10/6/2021, 1:11 PM
@santoanderson - gunn, reeves, jenkins, sandberg and wann had no problems
The1st
The1st - 10/6/2021, 1:04 PM
Of course they didn't bite...

Nightwing1015
Nightwing1015 - 10/6/2021, 6:17 PM
@The1st - tbf maybe the pitch was actually bad
Oberlin4Prez
Oberlin4Prez - 10/6/2021, 1:04 PM
I can’t imagine why they wouldn’t. Guy is a success with horror.
noahthegrand
noahthegrand - 10/6/2021, 1:04 PM
Mike Flanagan doing Edgar Allen Poe adaptations sounds up his alley after Hill House. I loved the old Vincent Price Poe movies


dracula
dracula - 10/6/2021, 1:08 PM
Love clayface but he really isnt a character i can see a whole movie being about
Grodd87
Grodd87 - 10/6/2021, 1:09 PM
I would love to see a clay face movie but can we get a proper dc universe and batverse first lol.
dracula
dracula - 10/6/2021, 1:09 PM
Get him for constantine
TheWalkingCuban
TheWalkingCuban - 10/6/2021, 1:10 PM
Why this monster ain’t been in a movie yet, I just can’t figure out

Not her, Clayface
dracula
dracula - 10/6/2021, 1:13 PM
@TheWalkingCuban - partially budget probably.

Unlike sandman, clayface would have to be a cgi monster most of the time
TheWalkingCuban
TheWalkingCuban - 10/6/2021, 1:31 PM
@dracula - shame. He’d be cool
dracula
dracula - 10/6/2021, 1:42 PM
@TheWalkingCuban - true. Also for the Batmen we have gotten so far he would really only fit the style of the Burton/Schumacker movies,and the technology just wasnt there to pull it off.

Could work in Reeves if they really lean into the horror element
TheWalkingCuban
TheWalkingCuban - 10/6/2021, 2:04 PM
@dracula - I think it could have worked with Batfleck’s world, The DCEU is not necessarily averse to fantastical shenanigans, I’m thinking of aquaman and Shazam mostly but still
CassianAndor
CassianAndor - 10/6/2021, 3:45 PM
@TheWalkingCuban - Since you bring up Darkplace, I think Matt Berry would make a great Clayface. I’m imagining him as an over actor like in the Harley Quinn show.
TheWalkingCuban
TheWalkingCuban - 10/6/2021, 3:51 PM
@BloopBlorp2 - niiice!
Origame
Origame - 10/6/2021, 4:08 PM
@dracula - not necessarily all the time since he can shape-shifting.

Also clayface would be much easier to create since you don't have to include the tiny grains of sand. And it's not like the batman movies have been short on budget.

No, the real reason is that the dark knight trilogy was so successful with a grounded approach. They only moved past that with the dceu, and even then clayface didn't really have a place with all the lex Corp and apocalypse invasions going ob.
dracula
dracula - 10/6/2021, 5:05 PM
@Origame - I guess, but dont you think it takes away from his character if he has enough control to look normal for most of the movie.
Origame
Origame - 10/6/2021, 6:01 PM
@dracula - not if handled properly. Maybe he reconciles in the fact he can make himself look normal but keeps slipping to maintain his regular form. Look to his origin in the animated series.
Fares
Fares - 10/6/2021, 1:12 PM
A golden goose like Mike Flanagan comes knocking on your doors and you turn him down? The [frick]?
Blergh
Blergh - 10/6/2021, 1:21 PM
A Clayface horror film would be badass, so do it WB. You've been on such a sh*t streak again...
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