Clayface will get his own movie at DC Studios and Mike Flanagan will write the script, although he may not direct it.

After Joker: Folie à Deux failed horribly and HBO’s The Penguin series made a splash, Warner Bros. and DC are rolling the dice again with another project focused on Batman villains. Get ready for a Clayface movie written by horror master Mike Flanagan.

That name alone was more than enough to perk up many ears when the project was first rumored in early 2023, as Flanagan’s output in television and film in recent years has been nothing short of amazing. He quickly debunked the rumors, probably because nothing was set in stone yet, but it turns out those reports had a point.

Via Variety, we learn that the film has been greenlit and filming is expected to begin in early 2025, meaning Flanagan’s script is all but locked at DC Studios. The filmmaker, however, is too busy with remakes of The Exorcist and Carrie, as well as other projects he’s producing, so it looks like someone else will direct.

While surprising at first, this is a sensible move by both Warner Bros. and DC Studios on the heels of The Penguin resonating with both critics and audiences. And even if Joker 2 was a huge flop, the original was a huge hit in 2019 that justified further experiments in the field of Gotham City’s evildoers. Furthermore, Flanagan’s name carries a lot of weight, as does that of the confirmed mid-sergeant. Rock movie by Luca Guadagnino.

This is yet another piece of news that confirms DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn’s commitment to putting all sorts of unconventional projects into production, like the tentative Bane & Deathstroke movie, along with much safer bets like his Superman reboot. Clayface is even part of his Creature Commandos animated series, the first official chapter of the DCU, which begs the question of whether this movie will work with that iteration of the character or will it be an Elseworlds story in the vein of The Batman, The Penguin, and the aforementioned Joker movies.

Clayface was introduced in 1940 as a failed actor wearing a clay mask. He later gained shape-shifting abilities, first introduced in 1961. This trait has been carried over into most subsequent versions of the character, so even if Flanagan and producers Matt Reeves and Lynn Harris are aiming for a more grounded approach, this film is likely to do so. lean heavily towards horror.