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‘Might be golden age Clayface’- Batman 2 fans discuss if Clayface should be a serial killer or fantastical shapeshifting villain, Mike Flanagan reacts on pitching to DC Studios

‘Might be golden age Clayface’- Batman 2 fans discuss if Clayface should be a serial killer or fantastical shapeshifting villain, Mike Flanagan reacts on pitching to DC Studios

Clayface is being eyed for a live-action adaptation of Matt Reeves‘ The Batman 2. but horror filmmaker Mike Flanagan has also pitched a Clayface movie to DC Studios’ James Gunn and Peter Safran. The news of the shapeshifter DC villain possibly appearing in a DCU title or as Elseworlds has fan dissent discussing if the character should be potrayed as a golden age or a fantastical monster.

Matt Reeves may have found his villain in Clayface for The Batman 2. The director revealed in January he has been working on the script with his writing partner, Mattson Tomlin. A script that is constantly changing according to the Deadline. Even so, the current edition/draft includes Clayface as a “big addition” for the second installment.

According to the trade outlet’s industry sources – Flanagan on the other hand had a meeting with DC Studios CEOs and his pitch was not dismissed. Though neither has a deal been offered so it remains to be seen if DCU would greenlight the project. The Doctor Sleep director also does not intend to portray the character as an antagonist. Flanagan has addressed the news in a recent tweet calling the report speculative and “when or if something like that ever becomes real, I promise I’ll tell you guys.”

Going by social media reactions, some fans are repulsive over the idea of a grounded version of a character known as The Man of a Thousand Faces. The argument seems to be that adapting him as the malleable clay-like design exploring the fantastical elements of the character like his shapeshifting abilities would delve deeper into the big-bad’s potential horror elements.

The Batman 2 fans are divided on Clayface possibly being a Golden Age adaptation

Meanwhile, Reevesverse stans are sold over the golden age adaptation, especially since the make-up design by Mike Marino for Collin Farrell’s Penguin was top-notch in the first film. As one DC Film fan going by the Twitter handle PiScEs27 pointed out, a realistic portrayal of Clayface could look like a disfigured Mason Verger from 2001’s Hannibal.

The mud-like villain is mostly attributed to the Batman animated series iteration of Matt Hagen. But the golden age’s Basil Karlo version from the Detective comics explored his evil traits without superpowers. Readers can check the reactions below.

Interestingly, Reeves hinted at his desire to find the grounded version of any character he sets his eye on while discussing the idea of possibly adapting villains like Mr. Freeze. “But I think to me what would be interesting would be to try and unwind the fantastical and see, well, how could that make sense here? And so that’s kind of my view, how I see it,” said Reeves speaking to Collider earlier in February 2022.

DC Studios could still consider introducing two versions of Clayface – one for the Elseworlds’ Batman sequel and the other for Gunn’s DCU. With the development of Brave and the Bold which would introduce another Dark Knight, it is not outside the realm of possibility for DC Studios to greenlight Mike Flanagan’s horror-Esque DC movie which would explore the character as a protagonist or an anti-hero.

The Batman 2 is scheduled to arrive in theaters on October 3, 2025.

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