Mike Flanagan’s Clayface Is A Good Sign For the New DCU

In a sane world, it actually seems like it would be fairly easy to run the DC Universe film franchise. The Warner Bros. corporation has access to several of the most beloved characters in fictional history and mountains of cash. One would think all they’d have to do is wait by the phone for creators of all stripes to call. They need only pair comic book legends with passionate filmmakers and showrunners, and they’d have a world of quality content. James Gunn seems prepped to do just that, and Mike Flannagan’s Clayface seems like a perfect sign.

It’s not a great time to be part of a superhero cinematic universe. The Marvel movies kind of sucked all the oxygen out of the room with a tremendous rise and a meteoric fall, though it’s far from out of the conversation. People are broadly sick of superheroes on the big and small screens, but that fatigue clears out every so often. Big projects like Deadpool & Wolverine or Fantastic Four: First Steps draw enough positive attention to make an impact. DC could do the same with the right names, but they may have to aim in different directions.

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Clayface is a Wild Comic Book Movie Premise

Among DC’s considerable 2026 slate is a project called Clayface. Set to premiere on September 11th for some reason, the film will serve as an origin story for the C-list Batman villain of the same name. Solo movies for lesser-known villains have filled Sony’s recent slate, resulting in flop after hilarious flop, but this pitch feels slightly different. Rather than a superhero movie pretending its lead character fits the mold, horror legend Mike Flanagan pitches Clayface as an existential nightmare about the terror of celebrity. Somewhat following the source material of the character’s early stories, Flanagan’s Clayface will be a down-on-his-luck B-movie actor. This unfortunate thespian will desperately pursue higher echelons of fame, but some confluence of fate and failure will trap him beneath satisfaction. He’ll then discover a mysterious chemical formula that alters his biology and turns him into a shapeshifting clay monstrosity. It’s a Batman villain origin story by way of The Substance. This is not the kind of pitch that could come out of the previous DCEU. It is very much the kind of idea that flows unbidden from the mind of Mike Flanagan. The promise of the man who brought the world Midnight Mass playing with a Batman villain suggests a future full of similar potential projects.

Comic Book Movies Used to be More Fun

Remember when the main draw of superhero movies was the experience of different filmmakers working with the same source material? Every new take on Batman reflects the unique style and substance of the creator. The same is true of each take on Spider-Man, Superman, or even the Fantastic Four. This mirrors the natural state of comic books. Fans will bombard new readers with their favorite writers and runs in any given discussion of their favorite characters. Writers and artists leave their marks on specific heroes and villains, taking the reins of whoever inspires them. Many modern comic book movies are big-screen debuts for their central figures, shifting the focus slightly, but they still have a world of source material to pull from. Much like those comic book luminaries, filmmakers and showrunners find the characters that stick with them and leave their mark on their big-screen universe. Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight, and James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy captured something beyond the fundamental essence of the character. They captured those creators’ relationship to and interpretation of the art.

The New DCU Might Learn From Better Eras

If there’s one thing James Gunn understands about superhero movies, it’s the subtle art of communicating passion from one fan to the others. Gunn is a master of elevating Z-list characters because those outcasts and weirdos tend to be his favorites. The same guiding force can provide a perfect set of principles for the future of the DCU. The best example of a contrasting strategy is the modern Marvel Cinematic Universe. As post-Endgame Marvel movies struggle, the studio is reaching back to the iconography of previous eras. They’re bringing back performers, characters, and concepts to try to recapture some of the things people liked. This comes to the exclusion of bringing back the techniques that made those things iconic in the first place. Marvel is bringing back old talent and forcing them to play with old toys. The new DCU is bringing new creators into the fold and letting them pitch their ideas for new and old concepts.

The DCEU was a parade of failures and disappointments, and the DCU isn’t exactly off to the world’s finest start. Clayface may be a new low for the franchise, or it may be the finest superhero horror film of the decade. Either way, it represents a fascinating step forward for the simple art of letting interesting creators do interesting things with the DC IP. Experimentation, innovation, and passion need to be the driving forces behind the DCU, and the promise of a film like Clayface speaks to those values.

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