Here’s an update to last week’s story about who will helm “Clayface” over at DC Studios: THR reports that “Speak No Evil” director James Watkins scored the job, and he’ll have a $40 million budget to work with. Watkins and DC Studios co-head James Gunn agreed on the project after a final presentation yesterday, with a deal in the work so the film may start shooting later this year.
“Clayface” is just one of several peculiar upcoming pics on the DCU docket. The brainchild of horror auteur Mike Flanagan, who pens the script, the film follows one of Batman’s most notorious villains, albeit one that’s never made it into a live-action film. THR describes Flanagan’s take on the character as “a Hollywood horror tale centering on a B-movie actor who injects himself with a substance to keep himself relevant, only to find out that he can reshape his face and form, becoming a walking piece of clay.” That sounds faithful to the villain’s first two iterations from June 1940’s “Detective Comics #40” and December 1961’s “Detective Comics #298,” which is good. But it also sounds a hell of lot like Coralie Forgeat‘s recent splatter-satire “The Substance,” which is …maybe slightly problematic?
Trust Flanagan for a nuanced take on the material, though. “The Batman” director Matt Reeves co-produces “Clayface” with Lynn Harris, and with DC Studios’ Gunn and Peter Safran. As for who may get cast as the tragic shapeshifting villain, Gunn and Safran have commented they’d like actors they cast in DCU projects to play the same character in both animated and live-action content. Previous voice-actors for Clayface include Alan Tudyk in “Harley Quinn” and “Creature Commandos,” and Ron Perlman in the highly-regarded rendition from “Batman: The Animated Series.” Hypothetically, both Tudyk and Perlman sound like great casting choices, but it’s more likely going to be a fresh face this time around.
As for Watkins, his other work beyond “Speak No Evil” includes his buzzy debut “Eden Lake” with Michael Fassbender, and 2012’s “The Woman In Black,” starring Daniel Radcliffe in an early post-“Harry Potter” role. Other credits for the director include Netflix‘s “Black Mirror” and the 2016 thriller “The Take.” “Speak No Evil” is far and away Watkins’ biggest hit, though, so let’s hope the momentum continues with “Clayface.”
DC Studios and Warner Bros. have “Clayface” slated for a September 11, 2026 theatrical release. Stay tuned for casting news for the pic.
