The DCU’s Clayface movie is shaping up to be one of the most intriguing—and most like a new horror movie—projects in James Gunn’s new slate of DC movies. Even though Mike Flanagan is no longer directing the film, his early vision helped define its direction. And now, thanks to new comments from the filmmaker, we know exactly what shaped his approach to Gotham and its most tragic shapeshifter.
During a recent appearance at ScreenRant’s Midnight Mass panel with Kate Siegel at Motor City Comic Con 2025, Flanagan opened up about where his version of Clayface began—and how it differs from what Matt Reeves is doing with his The Batman Part II and its extended world. According to Flanagan, his inspiration wasn’t drawn from Reeves’ universe at all, mostly because he hadn’t seen what that team was working on when he first started shaping the story for DC Studios. He explained:
