Mike Flanagan’s Clayface Movie is Officially Greenlit, But Will He Direct It?

The Gunn-Safran era of DC has proven to be off to a roaring start. With growing excitement for upcoming DCU projects– no doubt fueled by their hit streaming series The Penguin— the studio revealed a choice that already has fans thrilled.

Marvel veteran James Gunn took over as co-chief of DC Studios with producer Peter Safran in 2022. This came after Gunn was fired by Marvel and directed 2018’s The Suicide Squad. Although the Guardians of the Galaxy director came back to finish out the Guardians trilogy– as well as consulting on Avengers: Infinity War— it seems he’s very ended his time in the MCU. Many were surprised at how thoroughly he jumped ship, but he seems quite happy with the outcome. His partnership with Safran has him focusing more on the creative side of things, and Safran on production and finances. Things are apparently going very well so far, given viewership and praise of The Penguin, which wrapped up last month. There are currently no plans for a second season, but the story will likely be picked up in The Batman II to some degree.

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Following the success of Max’s The Penguin, it seems Warner Bros. is far more confident in putting their DC properties to good use again. This week, Variety confirmed that a Clayface film is officially in the works. It will be helmed by The Haunting of Hill House‘s Mike Flanagan. Flanagan has a lot of experience with horror and the otherworldly, so in a lot of ways he was the perfect choice to bring this character to the big screen. The director first expressed an interest in making a project like this in a 2021 tweet, saying he had a vision for a “horror/thriller/tragedy” combo film centered around Clayface. In 2023, he was able to pitch the project to DC Studios, to apparently great results.

The film is already in development, with The Batman director Matt Reeves producing it and further ingraining himself into the core of the DCU. Flanagan has quite a busy schedule to contend with in the near future, including an adaptation of Stephen King’s Carrie and something in The Exorcist universe. His film The Life of Chuck is also releasing next May. However, both he and the studio have definitely made some real progress on the Clayface project, given that it’s currently set to start to begin filming in the first half of next year. So it definitely seems to be high on his list of priorities.

For the first time in a very long time, the future of DC looks bright. Superman & Lois, which was the final DC show to air on The CW, ended only a week ago to audience and critical acclaim alike. The Penguin was one of the most watched shows of the year, and the David Corenswet-led Superman is one of 2025’s most eagerly anticipated films. Corenswet’s casting felt almost like destiny, especially given the fact that people have been fancasting him since he starred in Netflix’s The Politician in 2019. Gunn has made it abundantly clear that he’s very confident in the film, and in his leading man.

The Penguin is available to stream on Max.

Source: Variety

Created by Lauren LeFranc and starring Colin Farrell, The Penguin builds on 2022’s The Batman. The Max series chronicles the eponymous villain’s attempt to reach Gotham’s criminal peak, rising through the underworld in the middle of a power struggle.

Release Date

September 19, 2024

Cast

Colin Farrell , Cristin Milioti , Rhenzy Feliz , Michael Kelly , Shohreh Aghdashloo , Deirdre O’Connell , Clancy Brown , James Madio , Scott Cohen , Michael Zegen , Carmen Ejogo , Theo Rossi

Franchise(s)

Batman , DC Elseworlds

Showrunner

Lauren LeFranc