The future of Matt Reeves’ The Batman universe is expanding, and one of the characters being looked at is Clayface, and fans think they’ve found just the man to helm the project in Mike Flanagan.
Clayface is one of Batman’s most iconic foes, but has struggled to make it into any live-action adaptations so far. Following The Hollywood Reporter’s talk of a potential spin-off, fans are throwing out their ideas for a film. The Reeves version of Gotham has shied away from any supernatural or more science-fiction elements, favoring a realistic world, so how would they go about Clayface?
Fans are certain in wanting Warner Bros. to go full comic book silliness, with one account deeming an adaptation utterly pointless if they don’t make him a full-on blob of clay. It’d be like making a version of Man-Thing where he isn’t a giant green beast.
Modern horror auteur Mike Flanagan has previously expressed his interest in helming a Clayface movie, and it would be a near-perfect fit if it got underway. Flanagan stunned many with his recent Netflix limited series The Midnight Club, which followed on the back of the mightily impressive Midnight Mass.
Others have pointed out how by making the Reeves-Verse more fantastical it could help distinguish it from the Nolan Dark Knight trilogy which came before it. Nolan was perhaps too focused on realism when adapting Batman, with only Scarecrow really tapping into the more bizarre elements of the DC canon.
Clayface is probably too iconic for his monstrous form to be adapted as anything but, with him unlike most Batman villains in being more of a brutish David Cronenberg-esque body horror creature. If Flanagan doesn’t want to do a Clayface film, it’s time to tap up Cronenberg.
The Batman will see its first spin-off arrive in the form of The Penguin, which received a miniseries order in March 2022.