From Chris Snellgrove
| Published
At the moment, fans of the Caped Crusader are eating well: the penguin Matt Reeves’ spin-off The Batman proved to be a monster hit and the acclaimed director is hard at work on his second-year superhero gig. Meanwhile, thanks to James Gunn, the DCU visionary, more Batman films are being planned Superman The movie trailer gives us an idea of what he and his team could do with the Dark Knight. But the best upcoming movie won’t be about Batman: Mike Flanagan’s Clayface movie has been greenlit, and he likes it penguin show, it will serve as a deep dive into one of the Bat’s greatest villains.
The Penguin led to the Clayface movie
Understandably, Warner Bros. waited to see how audiences would react The penguin was before a feature film was greenlit that focused on a completely different Batman nemesis. Initially, The penguin seemed quite a risk; Making a Batman villain show without Batman seemed as crazy as Sony making a series of Spider-Man villain movies without the most popular webhead of all time. Fortunately, The penguin was a huge hit with fans and critics alike, giving the studio the confidence to greenlight a Clayface film written by Mike Flanagan.
Mike Flanagan’s horror story
For now, Flanagan is the only name attached to the project and he will only be handling the script. For horror fans, however, it’s Flanagan’s involvement on every level that makes this Clayface film so exciting: on the big screen, he’s responsible for directing spooky hits like… Oculus, silenceAnd Doctor Sleep. On the small screen, he has been the showrunner of some must-see films Streaming TV, incl The Haunting of Hill House And Midnight mass.
We don’t have many official details about the Clayface movie yet other than the release date: Warner Bros. aims to release the film on September 11, 2026. But Flanagan’s involvement strongly suggests that this is a horror film. In addition to his aforementioned genre resume, his other big upcoming projects include directing a new film Exorcist Film and creating one Carrie show for Amazon based on Stephen King’s novel. Smart and atmospheric horror is what the man does, and it’s honestly a relief to know that James Gunn’s upcoming DCU will explore other genres instead of using the DCEU’s strategy (aka “make it like”) Wonder but infinitely worse”).
Is the Clayface movie in the DCU?
Speaking of Gunn, it’s not yet clear whether the Clayface movie will take place in the actual DCU or something The penguintake place in the separate universe of The Batman. We also don’t yet know exactly which comic book version of Clayface the film will adapt, although we’re probably betting it will be most directly based on the pathetic version of Clayface Batman: The Animated Series. This incarnation was played to hilarious perfection by Alan Tudyk Harley Quinn animated series, but we can’t help but look forward to a horror film that focuses on the more serious aspects of this actor-turned-shapeshifter.
That is possible Clayface and other Direct current Movies under James Gunn’s watch are bound to fail, of course, and the actors involved may want their own shapeshifting abilities if this latest attempt at a cinematic universe fails and burns. Currently, however, Warner Bros. has a track record of immense success The Batman And The penguinand they have a horror legend writing a film about the Caped Crusader’s most misunderstood nemesis. As huge fans of the Dark Knight, we are incredibly hyped and can only hope for a cinematic superhero renaissance that makes the DCEU a distant and painful memory.
Source: diversity
