Director Mike Flanagan wants DC fans to simmer down a minute while he works through getting a Clayface movie off the ground. While fans may be trying, it seems like it’s been difficult, with many already throwing in their vote for who would fill the shapeshifter’s shoes best. Clayface isn’t the only villain fans are trying to sort for Warner Bros. as Ra’s al Ghul’s inevitable return has some DC diehards wishing the studio would follow the source material and cast an Arab actor to bring the iconic villain to life. Finally, sneaky fans have recorded audio of Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix as they film for Joker: Folie à Deux in New York, and the short clip seems to confirm that the follow-up film will be just as idiosyncratic as its predecessor.
Can we get a little diversity up in here?
DC fans on the r/DC subreddit have one request for the next instalment of Batman: cast ethnically correct versions of villains. In a glorious reverse of the usual toxicity involving minorities in films, DC fans are calling for directors and showrunners of the rebooted DCU to end the age old practice of whitewashing.
The first villain fans want to see return is the infamous Ra’s al Ghul and they just want to see him as he was originally created. The classic Batman villain has long been depicted as an Arab man and fans are flummoxed as to why he can’t have the right ethnic background on film. The tendency to whitewash in cinema has been a malignant problem for decades but recent years has seen much more push-back on studios for the practice.
Ra’s al Ghul villain has only been brought to life on the big screen once, and while we aren’t knocking the great Liam Neeson, it does get tiring only seeing white villains, mentors, and superheroes. The world is a great wide place, and there are so many different types of people out there; the lack of diversity is ridiculous when you consider the breakdown of the world’s population. With Marvel/Disney already having set a bad precedent with its tendency to whitewash, if DC could one-up the superhero behemoth, that would be great.
With good writing, there is even a chance for DC to pull off an incredible win. Over the course of the academy’s nearly 100-year reign, only one Arab actor has ever won an Oscar for Best Actor. Arab representation at events like the Academy Awards has been incredibly poor, with the first Arab actor to ever win an award being Rami Malek for his role as Freddie Mercury in 2019.
Mike Flanagan is trying to temper reaction to a potential Clayface movie
Horror aficionado Mike Flanagan is rumored to have pitched the idea of a Clayface movie to DC execs. The Haunting of Hill House director/producer/writer has created some pretty incredible horror masterpieces over the last few years, and the idea that such a maestro would turn his attention to the DCU had fans rightly exuberant. James Gunn seems to be taking the DCU in a horror-rooted direction, and fans could not be more excited for the shakeup. Flanagan did confirm that he had talked to execs about the project, but has asked fans to please be calm as nothing is certain yet.
The request didn’t stop fan fervor, David Dastmalchian has emerged as a top contender for some fans. The actor has been in a ton of projects, from Dune to Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantummania, and has been a long-time superhero fan. For his part, Dastmalchian has already voiced interest in appearing in the DCU (again) and it seems he already has the fan vote.
Its official, Lady Gaga is going to sing
Muffled audio of Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix has been released and it all but confirms the rumor of the second Joker installment being a musical. The leaked audio isn’t the best quality, but if you listen closely, it sounds as though the 13-time Grammy winner is singing a tune popularized by the legendary Fred Astaire and the incredibly talented Judy Garland, “We’re a Couple of Swells.”