DCU’s Clayface Gets Exciting Production Update as Horror Director Jumps on Board

James Gunn’s DC Universe has created a lot of anticipation, with the new franchise set to debut this summer with the upcoming Superman. The new superhero franchise will also include Clayface, which has just secured its director.

The movie was confirmed in December 2024, with critically acclaimed filmmaker Mike Flanagan set to write the script but no director. The search for the person who would direct the film continued well into 2025, with two potential horror directors reportedly in the final stages to direct the film, Jeff Wadlow (Truth or Dare) and James Watkins (Speak No Evil). Per The Hollywood Reporter, Watkins is officially set to direct Clayface.

Related

‘I’m Very Excited’: Robert Pattinson Shares The Batman Part II Update

Robert Pattinson knows something fans don’t about The Batman Part II.

Posts

In a recent THR e-mail newsletter, an insider revealed Wadlow wasn’t in the mix, but Watkins was expected to meet with the DC execs. The reports turned out to be true, and Wakins met with Gunn on Thursday, Feb. 20, for a “final presentation,” which resulted with him scoring the project.

The newsletter also teased what Clayface is about: “Clayface is a Hollywood horror story, using the most popular incarnation of the villain – a B-movie actor who injects himself with a substance to keep himself relevant only to find out that he can reshape his face and form, becoming a walking piece of clay.”

James Watkins has a history with the horror genre, which will come in handy for the upcoming project. He just had a lot of success with 2024’s Speak No Evil, which received positive reviews from the critics and the audience, with an 83% Certified Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes, and 84% from the audience. He also directed the critically panned Idris Elba film The Take, and Daniel Radcliffe’s 2012 horror film, The Woman in Black, which received mixed reviews.

Related

‘Consummate Filmmaker’: James Gunn Shares Sweet Tribute to Zack Snyder in New Photo

The two DC filmmakers gave the internet exactly what it needed.

Posts

Clayface reportedly has a budget of $40 million. The Batman director Matt Reeves will produce Clayface, along with Lynn Harris and DC Studios co-CEOs Gunn and Safran. The film has a Sept. 11, 2026 release date.

Who Is Clayface?

Clayface is an alias that several Batman supervillains used. The character was originally introduced in 1940 in Detective Comics #40 by Bill Finger and Bob Kane. He was described as a “B-list actor who began a life of crime using the identity of a villain that he had portrayed in a horror film.”

Close

Hollywood has also seen several portrayals in the media and appeared in various forms over the years. Brian McManamon played a live-action version in the TV show Gotham, while Lorraine Burroughs played another in the series Pennyworth. Ron Perlman loaned his voice to the character in several projects, with Alan Tudyk voicing Clayface in the animated Harley Quinn and Creature Commandos.

So far, there is no cast attached to the project, but the two DC Studios co-CEOs shared that the actors who voice the characters in DC Studios can play the characters in live-action versions, as well.

Clayface will premiere in theaters on Sept. 11, 2026.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Clayface

Horror

Thriller

Release Date September 11, 2026

Director Mike Flanagan

Writers Mike Flanagan

Powered by Expand Collapse