Clayface Has Found Its Director — But Is He The Right Fit?
James Watkins will direct the new Batman film for the DCU.
Things are moving fast at DC Studios. It’s only been a few months since DC co-chairs James Gunn and Peter Safran officially approved the script for a new film, Clayface. The story was penned by horror vet Mike Flanagan — but the filmmaker has so many projects on his plate, he notably won’t be able to direct his story for DC. The search for a director began shortly after Flanagan’s latest project was announced, and just three months later, Gunn and Safran seem to have found a perfect fit for DC’s Clayface.
Last week, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that James Watkins has been tapped to helm Clayface for DC Studios. The offer to direct came after a meeting with Gunn, where Watkins pitched his vision for the film. Per THR, DC still has to hammer out a deal with the director. But with Clayface set to start production later this year, it’s safe to assume that the studios’ negotiations with Watkins will come together quickly enough.
Though the first phase of the DCU seems poised to focus on heavy-hitting heroes, Clayface will mark a departure into more grounded fare. Flanagan previously described the project as a “horror/thriller/tragedy,” one entirely focused on the villain otherwise known as Basil Karlo. Watkins himself is no stranger to horror: the British director first broke out with Eden Lake, a horror-thriller starring Kelly Reilly and Michael Fassbender. His most notable credits include ghost story The Woman in Black and last year’s psych-horror Speak No Evil, making him well-versed in a handful of subgenres. But given the shaky state of the DC Universe, is Watkins the right fit for the job?
Mike Flanagan’s Clayface finally has a director, Speak No Evil’s James Watkins.
Gunn and Safran’s plans for the DCU are only just beginning to take shape, but the dawn of a new universe has never felt quite so chaotic. While the first film on the new slate, Superman, definitely looks promising, there’s no rhyme or reason to any of the duo’s plans otherwise. The DCU doesn’t have much guidance in terms of continuity, with Gunn retaining some parts of the old regime and discarding others entirely. A few projects in the duo’s initial plans — like The Authority and Suicide Squad spin-off Waller — have also been pushed to the back burner, paving the way for last-minute additions like Clayface and the upcoming Sgt. Rock.
“We had no plans making a Clayface movie,” Gunn recently told THR. It wasn’t until Flanagan turned in his script that those plans changed: “It’s one of the best scripts that we’ve read.”
Per Gunn, the new DCU is “writer-driven.” Strong scripts are the priority for the new saga... which might explain why the directors slated to adapt those scripts leave a bit to be desired. Gunn and Safran surprised a lot of fans when they named The Flash’s Andy Muschietti as the “one choice” to direct their first Batman story, The Brave and the Bold. Muschietti is a talented horror director, but his foray into superhero fare was middling, at best. Many consider The Flash to be the death knell for the old DC Universe. That DC is once again trusting Muschietti, and with a film that could be much more important than The Flash, doesn’t exactly feel like the smartest move.
James Watkins on the set of Speak No Evil.
DC’s strange strategy makes Watkins’ appointment all the more troubling. Speak No Evil was a bit better than its reputation (or its omnipresent trailer) would have you believe, but Watkins’ track record is otherwise pretty mixed. There’s a high chance that his take on Clayface will deliver where it needs to, allowing Watkins to bounce back as a promising voice in horror — but why take the risk? The DCU needs all the support it can get at this stage in its development. It’s not enough to develop a good script: you also need a competent director to bring it to life.
