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James Gunn on Clayface Mike Flanaganâs Pitch and Why DC Films Need Their Own Identities

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DC Studios is taking a horror-driven approach with Clayface, its upcoming film centred on one of Batman’s most recognisable villains. Directed by James Watkins and written by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, the film stars Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen, a Hollywood actor whose life takes a dark turn.

For DC Studios co-chief James Gunn, the film is another example of the studio’s approach to telling stories across genres rather than following a single formula.

“All of our projects so far have been very different. Our animated series Creature Commandos is very different from Superman, Supergirl, Lanterns or Peacemaker. It is really just continuing our tradition of creating something that maybe isn’t what people were expecting but I do believe is what people want. Which is, a true horror film like the films that I grew up loving, John Carpenter, David Cronenberg but within the DCU. Not a fake horror movie (laughs), but an actual horror movie.”

Gunn says the project also reflects the studio’s emphasis on finding strong screenplays rather than starting with a predetermined list of characters it wants to bring to the screen.

“It also follows up on another thing that is important to DC Studios, which is, we always make our movies based on the script. When we took over, we expected that we were going to make a Superman movie, a Batman movie. We didn’t say, ‘Hey, one of the things we need to do is a Clayface movie.’ What happened was Mike Flanagan came to us and said he had an idea for a Clayface movie. He pitched us the story, and it was impressive. He had been thinking about it for years. And we decided that it was worth the risk to have a screenplay written and that screenplay turned out to be even better than the pitch. We have this thing that just dropped into our lap, this wonderful horror movie about a character in DC who is loved by the fans but not necessarily well known to people outside of those fans. And that gave us an opportunity to do something really different within the DC brand. At the end of the day, if a screenplay is great, we’re going to find a way to make that movie.”

Clayface
Flanagan’s connection to the character also goes back to the animated series Batman: The Animated Series, which featured a memorable Clayface storyline.

Gunn continued, “There’s also something else here. Mike Flanagan grew up loving the Batman animated series and particularly loved that story of Clayface. So, he was inspired by a moment that didn’t come from the comic books, very much like I was when I made The Suicide Squad. Because DC is not just comic books… it’s movies, it’s television shows, it’s animated shows, it’s video games and all of these characters can come from all these different places, and the people that are making movies with us can be inspired by any of those things and come to us with a story.”

Gunn says this diversity of influences is also central to how he wants DC Studios’ films and television shows to be made.

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“One of the things that I always loved about DC Comics was that they had all these great graphic novels, whether it was Watchmen, The Dark Knight Returns, Superman For All Seasons, or Kingdom Come.

“These were unique stories that went from one genre to another; these beautiful individual stories that were about characters within the DC universe but weren’t all necessarily in the same tone, almost never were because they were created by different writers and artists who fully put themselves into their singular creative vision. I don’t expect anything else but that spirit from the writers and directors working on DC Studios projects. They have to be different. People don’t want to see a James Gunn tone in every movie or TV show. I don’t want to see it even in my own work.”

Horror, meanwhile, is a genre Gunn has explored before with movies like Slither (2006) and The Belko Experiment (2016) and Clayface gives him another opportunity to bring it into a comic-book universe.

Speaking about the genre and the experience of making horror films, he said, “I love making horror movies. It is a lot of fun. And I think horror fans are probably the nicest fans in the world. There’s something about the vibe of people who like to watch this really crazy, scary stuff, who have this other side that’s just so nice. And the sets of horror films are like that, too. When you’re making horror, it’s outlandish when you see behind the scenes. There’s some pretty intense stuff going on in this. If you’re seeing it in person, it looks good, but it’s pretty over the top. And, between the takes, it’s funny, gallows humour. Maybe it’s a coping mechanism but believe me, horror sets are some of the best times you can have making a movie.”

Clayface will be released by Warner Bros. Pictures on October 23.

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