Variety is reporting that a Clayface movie is officially moving forward at DC Studios, with Mike Flanagan (Doctor Sleep; The Fall of the House of Usher; Midnight Mass) attached to write the screenplay.
Flanagan and Trevor Macy, his partner at Intrepid Pictures, pitched the potential film to James Gunn and Peter Safran over a year ago, and it looks like the idea won over the new DC bosses as they've issued a formal greenlight.
Plot details remain under wraps, but what we do know is that Clayface won't be a villain in the feature, which makes sense considering that back in 2021, Flanagan, when asked which DC movie he'd like to make, said, "Well I've wanted to do a Superman movie since I was a kid, but I would also be really keen to do a standalone Clayface movie as a horror/thriller/tragedy."
Filming is tentatively scheduled to begin early next year, but due to his commitments on Universal's new The Exorcist film and to Amazon MGM Studios' Carrie series, Flanagan is unlikely to direct the feature, so the studio has been looking around for a director to take on the project and it sounds like they're closing in on someone as the trade says to expect an announcement in the coming days, if not sooner.
It remains unclear whether Flanagan pitched the film to be part of the DC Universe or to be part of Matt Reeves' The Batman universe or to be its own thing entirely. However, while it may be a possibility, we can probably rule out Flanagan's film being part of Reeves' universe, as according to their sources, the script for The Batman II features a prominent role for Clayface, although that remains subject to change with Reeves still fine tuning elements before production begins next year.
Clayface is one of the more iconic members of Batman's rogues' gallery, and has previously been played in live-action by Malachi Throne (Batman '66), Kirk Baltz (Birds of Prey TV), Brian McManamon (Gotham), and Lorraine Burroughs (Pennyworth).
The character is likely better known to audiences from his animated appearances, having been voiced by Ron Perlman (Batman: The Animated Series; The New Batman Adventures; Justice League), Lou Scheimer (The New Adventures of Batman), Steve Harris (The Batman), Wallace Langham (The Batman), Nolan North (Young Justice), Fred Tatasciore (Teen Titans Go!), Alan Tudyk (Harley Quinn; Creature Commandos), Jun Fukuyama (Suicide Squad Isekai), and Dan Donohue (Batman: Caped Crusader).