Despite having multiple upcoming horror movies and at least one upcoming horror TV show on the way, filmmaker Mike Flanagan continues to amass an array of exciting new projects with ease. Of late, he’s signed on to bring new life to classic titles in the form of his Exorcist reimagining and a series based on Stephen King’s Carrie, and is now officially set to write a Clayface movie for James Gunn’s DCU.
For horror and DC fans, this is a match made in horror heaven, and I couldn’t be more excited to see how the Haunting of Hill House creator reconfigures the Batman villain’s lore in a way that makes audiences both emotional and afraid to walk across a dark room alone. It’s just how Mike Flanagan operates.
Now that the project appears to be moving forward ahead of a reported production start “early next year,” according to Variety, I have some big questions about what both horror fans and comic fans can expect from Flanagan’s first dive into DC mythos.
Who Will Direct This Villainous Chapter From Batman's Lore?
Given that Mike Flanagan is a creative who tends to direct his own scripts — more so with movies than TV shows — I'm highly intrigued to learn who will take the reins and bring the scribe's thoughts and words to life. (While also still holding out hope that he can somehow chisel out the time to helm it himself.)
Could it be someone who's worked with Flanagan in the past? For instance, his longtime cinematographer Michael Fimognari, who is otherwise best known for directing both To All The Boys sequels. Or perhaps already established horror directors that worked on Flanagan's shows, such as Azrael's E.L. Katz, The Manor's Axelle Carolyn, or Citadel's Ciarán Foy.
Or will James Gunn and other DC execs opt for horror directors who have handled blockbusters before, such as The Conjuring's James Wan, who helmed the Aquaman sequel, or The Flash and It: Chapter 1 & 2 director Andy Muschietti? Or what about an up-and-coming director such as Kate Seigel, who helmed the V/H/S/Beyond short that her hubby Flanagan wrote?
How Does Mike Flanagan's Script Address The Actual Shapeshifting?
With this question, I'm not necessarily wondering about the chemical and physical mechanics involved with Clayface turning from human to amorphous glob. Rather, I'm curious to see whether or not Flanagan structured things to limit the amount of CGI effects that would be necessary to properly pull off the on-screen transitions.
Throughout his career, the filmmaker has utilized practical in-camera effects as often as possible, with digital effects kept to a minimum. A character like Clayface is obviously a huge challenge in that respect, since it would be very hard to realistically turn a man's hand into a hammer or a fish or whatever. And one can assume DC won't be curbing the budget with this one.
So even though Mike Flanagan won't be directing this one, and thus would have no core reasons to script out CGI-lite transitions, I can't help but think that's also the kind of Clayface movie he'd want to see. Though I imagine there are only so many off-screen changes a movie can deliver before complaints happen.
Will Mike Flanagan's Clayface Story Involve Recreating Movie Sets À La Doctor Sleep?
Hear me out: Mike Flanagan pulled off one of cinema's most magical recreations for Doctor Sleep by basically rebuilding The Shining's Overlook Hotel. (And without a lot of CGI used there, to call back to the above point.) And Clayface's alter ego Basil Karlo is often portrayed as an actor of vaying quality across various eras of Hollywood.
As such, there's a possibility that the DCU's Basil Karlo could be written to have worked on actual Warner Bros. films in the past, with the opportunity to revisit some classic sets rebuilt like the Overlook. Perhaps something from Blade Runner or even Nancy's house from A Nightmare on Elm Street. Of course, I'd go most bananas if Clayface movie went full meta and had Basil Karlo as a background actor in Tim Burton's 1989 Batman. But that's probably too far, even for James Gunn. Probably.
Bat-Bonus Question: Will Batman Actually Be In The Movie?
After watching a season of The Penguin knowing that Robert Pattinson's Batman wouldn't be antagonizing the criminal enterprise, I'm perfectly fine with going into a Clayface movie with the same expectations, knowing that the journey taken with the villain will still be worth the price of admission.
But since this isn't Reeves and Patterson's world, and we still don't know who the DCU's Batman will be, it's not unreasonable to think that Gunn might be planning to utilize his Dark Knight in a variety of projects beyond The Brave and the Bold.. I guess Mike Flanagan would be the best person to ask whether or not Batman is in his script, though I wouldn't put it past DC producers to craft a new scene while in the middle of shooting that would address such a heroic cameo.
I could really keep this lineup of questions going, but my time would be better spent just rewatching Mike Flanagan's stellar filmography. Stay tuned for more info about the Clayface movie.
