Mike Flanagan “really wanted” to direct Clayface but was too busy.
The 48-year-old filmmaker pitched the story and co-wrote the script for the upcoming film, which stars Tom Rhys Harries as the shapeshifting monster, one of Batman’s most well-known adversaries, and while DC Studios bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran had hoped he’d direct, Mike had to turn it down because of his commitments to the next Exorcist film and the Carrie TV series.
Mike told Entertainment Weekly: “Between Carrie and The Exorcist, there was no way.
“I really wanted to do it, too. “Though, when I was developing it, I thought it was going to be later in the DC rollout. I didn’t think it would be the character they’d focus on so soon.
“But they were eager to get it into production and I wasn’t anywhere near available. It wasn’t ‘Wait six months.’ It was, ‘No, I’m years away.’ So I completely understand why they would want to do that.”
Instead, James Watkins has taken the reins on Clayface and while Mike has only seen the trailers so far, he thinks he’ll be pleased with the end result.
He said: “I haven’t seen [Clayface] yet. That’s James’ movie. It looks like the movie I think it is.
“It’s a weird situation because I turned in the script and it’s like, ‘James [Gunn], make your movie. I’m off to do my thing.’ I’ve never been in this position before, but I’ll probably see it when everybody else sees it.”
Gunn and Safran recently spoke about how much they had wanted Mike to direct Clayface.
Safran, who worked with him as a producer on The Conjuring franchise, told Entertainment Weekly: “We really wanted him to direct it — I mean, really, really wanted him to direct it.
“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.'”
The studio bosses went with James Watkins, who impressed with his work at the helm of 2024’s Speak No Evil remake, as well as 2012’s Woman In Black, and his 2008 debut Eden Lake.
When it comes to his own outlook, the filmmaker explained: “I’m interested in films that give people a real rollercoaster ride.
“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.”
Clayface was first introduced in Detective Comics #40 back in June 1940, with the initial origin story focused on a moderately successful actor, Matt Hagen, who turned to crime and took on the identity of a character he played in a horror film.
He has appeared in a number of films, series, animated works and more over the years, with Brian McManamon and Lorraine Burrough taking on the role in Gotham and Pennyworth, respectively.
In the 1970s, the character was developed as a scientist suffering with hormone irregularities.
Watkins noted that Flanagan’s original script and concept shifted dramatically once collaborator Hossein Amini got involved.
He explained: “[In the earlier draft] 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.”
Gunn previously revealed he wasn’t considering a Clayface movie before Flanagan’s original pitch.
He told io9: “I didn’t plan on making a Clayface movie. Mike came in. He pitched this wonderful idea. I was like, ‘Damn, I can’t believe you got me to want to make a Clayface movie.’
“But he’s got to write the script and who knows how that’s going to work. He goes and he writes the script. First draft is great. Second draft is even better.
“And then I’m like, ‘Let’s do it.’ So we found a place for it because if there’s quality stuff, we can find a way to work it in.”
