DC’s Clayface Movie Is Getting A Rewrite, For Some Reason
Apparently, a “writer-driven” approach can only take the DCU so far.
The guidelines governing the DC reboot are in constant flux, but as James Gunn and Peter Safran added more projects to the slate, one rule seemed to dominate the new regime. The creative co-chairs have been adamant about taking a “writer-driven” approach to their DC Universe, prioritizing strong scripts over half-formed ideas and the pressures of pre-planned release dates. But are they really committed to the strategy?
“We are not going to greenlight or put anything into production until we are happy with the script,” Gunn told The Hollywood Reporter in February. “It is hard enough making a good movie with a good script, it’s almost impossible to make a movie with a script that you’re writing on the run.”
That strategy is why DC gave the green light to a few surprising projects, like a Clayface film written by Mike Flanagan. “We had no plans [to make] a Clayface movie,” Gunn said. “[Flanagan] turned in a script and it’s one of the best scripts that we’ve read.”
Their enthusiasm makes sense, as Flanagan has emerged as a prolific voice in horror over the past 10 years. His partnership with Netflix, which gave us hits like The Haunting of Hill House and Midnight Mass, infused classic horror tropes with pathos and tragedy. He seemed like the perfect fit to write a film about one of Batman’s most sympathetic villains. But as DC pushes the project into production, it may also be stripping it of the one thing that made it so essential.
Screenwriter Hossein Amini and director James Watkins could be overhauling Flanagan’s Clayface.
Flanagan is a bit too busy to direct his script, so Gunn and Safran chose Speak No Evil director James Watkins to take the helm. He’s got plenty of experience with horror, though the mixed reception to films like The Take and The Woman in Black makes him a somewhat dubious choice. Flanagan’s strong script could buoy the project, but Watkins seems keen to put his own stamp on Clayface.
According to TheWrap, Hossein Amini, best known for writing Drive, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Snow White and the Huntsman, was recently chosen to rewrite Flanagan’s script. Amini previously worked with Watkins for the TV series McMafia, making this a reunion of sorts. But it also feels like a strange pivot, given the emphasis that Gunn and Safran initially put on Flanagan’s pitch.
There’s no telling how much of the original script will change under Amini’s influence, but each update seems to bring Clayface farther from the originally advertised story. The film only got the green light because of Flanagan, leapfrogging over older projects thanks to the strength of his script. With a new director and writer on board, the finished product may not even feel like a Flanagan story at all.
Flanagan isn’t flawless, and maybe Amini is only doing minor touchups, but the messaging here is odd. If Gunn and Safran have a “writer-driven” strategy, why are writers being replaced and having their projects rewritten? It’s a choice that makes the new DCU all the more confusing, and it comes at a time when the franchise needs to build hype, not strangle it.
