Details are starting to drop on the DCU’s next big-screen outing, Clayface, and it really sounds like this is going to be one for the fans and the casual moviegoers alike… a very smart move for DC.
But one thing is for sure: it’s not going to go easy; it’s really going to put the viewer through the wringer.
DC Studios co-head Peter Safran says the movie is “the true body horror of a Cronenberg-type movie… We’re not just telling a villain story, but a real psychological unraveling.”
In the movie, up-and-coming movie star Matt Hagen (Tom Rhys Harries) sleeps with the girlfriend of a Gotham City mob boss and has his face carved up for it, leading him to seek any ways to restore his good looks, which lead to his demise and rebirth as Clayface.
“We meet Matt at a real turning point in his career and then, very quickly, at a real turning point in his life,” Rhys Harries says, “It’s a horror, but it’s a thriller. It asks, How far would you go to reclaim your life that you’ve built?”
Tidbit:
Safran doesn’t hide away from the failings of this summer’s Supergirl movie, but remains confident in je and James Gunn’s vision for the DCU: “Not everything’s gonna work, but we don’t judge the success of our 10-year plan based on any individual project along the way.”
Written by Mike Flanagan, the man behind The Haunting of Hill House, Doctor Sleep and the upcoming Carrie, the story was inspired by the classic Batman: The Animated Series arc Feat of Clay Parts 1 and 2.
“We really wanted him [Flanagan] to direct it — I mean, really, really wanted him to direct it,” Safran says, “But Flanagan is so booked up. He had so many things on his plate. So he said, ‘Listen, I can’t direct it, but you have my blessing. Go with God.'”
Enter Speak No Evil (2024) director James Watkins, who said: “You want to take people on a journey, but I don’t want that journey just to be clockwork. I want it to have a heart. I thought that’s what this had.”
Tidbit:
If you think you’ve the stomach for a truly devastating outing, I strongly recommend Watkins’ Eden Lake starring Kelly Reilly and Michael Fassbender. But I am warning you, it’s a tough ride.
The script, we’re told, evolved significantly since Flanagan handed it in, with Watkins’ longtime collaborator Hossein Amini, rewriting it: “There were mythic things within the shape-shifting world of him. Questions of our humanity — how we lose our humanity and what it means to be a monster,” Watkins said.
“It leans into horror and psychological thriller in a way that definitely differentiates it from more traditional superhero entries, while still being anchored in what I would say is a recognizable character,” Safran adds.
Interstingly, before the movie was officially announced as being part of Gunn’s DCU, many believed it was set to take place in Matt Reeves’ The Batman universe and Reeves himself has spoken of his involvement in Clayface, saying: “I’m drawn to the more grounded DC Comic characters, and coming off The Batman wanted to expand that interest to other characters and stories, Clayface presented a unique opportunity to dive into an origin story within a specific genre — it’s a tragic character journey wrapped in terrifying body horror.”
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Ok, but in what way will Hagen/Clayface’s final form manifest? Well, you’re going to have to wait until October to find that out: “You don’t want to show the shark. I think people give away too much… I believe in the power of mystery and the power of suggestion and the power of people putting two and two together. I think it’s more fun,” Watkins says.
But, and Safran confirms this is the same character, if you have watched the animated DCU series Creature Commandos, you will already have an idea what this Clayface looks like, as he’s the same one that appears in that series, meaning this movie is technically a prequel to all the DCU so far, including Creature Commandos.
Not only did that show give us a look at Clayface, it also gave us a brief glimpse at Batman and his home, Gotham City: “James [Gunn] and I wanted to create a Gotham that had a certain impressiveness and corruption to it and dirt to it, but also wasn’t murky. I like to have some color in the film and in the universe,” Watkins says on his vision of the most famous fictional city in history.
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But what about the bigger universe? Will we see hints of other DC and Batman characters? “There are little Easter eggs for those really in the know,” Watkins says, “but they’re very light sprinklings, whether it’s name references or occasional background references or visual illusions. If you didn’t know this world, you wouldn’t spot them — and they’re not there to pull people out [of the story].”
But he’s keen to point out that this will not be a movie filled with familiar faces and characters: “The story is Clayface’s story; it’s Matt Hagen’s story. If you just took one person within the world of Gotham and followed their story, it’s about following the integrity of that.
“You don’t necessarily bump into any of these people…It’s just one big city. I can see why people worry about these things, but that’s not my job. My job is to worry about, Is this story honest to itself? and not try to think of ways to be cute, I suppose.”
Everything I hear here is making me excited for the first real trip to the DCU’s Gotham City, albeit without Batman.
Thoughts? I know you have them and I wanna hear ’em all!
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Marc
Marc is a self-confessed nerd. Ever since seeing Star Wars for the first time around 1979 he’s been an unapologetic fan of the Wars and still believes, with Clone Wars and now Underworld, we are yet to see the best Star Wars. He’s a dad of two who now doesn’t have the time (or money) to collect the amount of toys, comics, movies and books he once did, much to the relief of his long-suffering wife. In the real world he’s a graphic designer. He started Following the Nerd because he was tired of searching a million sites every day for all the best news that he loves and decided to create one place where you can go to get the whole lot. Secretly he longs to be sitting in the cockpit of his YT-1300 Corellian Transport ship with his co-pilot Chewie, roaming the universe, waiting for his next big adventure, but feels just at home watching cartoons with his kids….
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