Warner Bros. and DC are wasting no time getting the Clayface moving going. Based on the Batman villain of the same name, the project was first confirmed late last year. DC Studios co-head James Gunn confirmed in December that it had been given the green light, with a fall 2026 release date on the calendar. Now, we have word that a new writer has come on board to give the script a fresh coat of paint ahead of production.
According to The Wrap, Hossein Amini (Drive, Obi-Wan Kenobi) has been tapped to rewrite the screenplay for Clayface. Mike Flanagan (Doctor Sleep, Hush) wrote the previous draft. James Watkins (Speak No Evil) is set to direct the film, which has been described as an R-rated body-horror picture. It will be part of the new DC Universe, which kick’s off in earnest with Gunn’s Superman this summer. It will not be connected to Matt Reeves’ The Batman universe.
“Clayface is totally DCU,” Gunn confirmed at a press event in February (per IGN). “It was important that Clayface be part of the DCU. It’s an origin story for a classic Batman villain that we want to have in our world.”
Gunn and producer Peter Safran are the co-heads of DC Studios at Warner Bros. They have an ambitious slate of movies and TV shows planned in the coming years. A new Batman will be cast as part of the DCU, though the actor has yet to be revealed. It’s been confirmed that The Batman star Robert Pattinson won’t be brought over to the new universe. He’ll remain a separate entity in Reeves’ universe. The Batman Part II is currently expected to hit theaters in Fall 2027.
Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, Clayface first appeared in 1940 in the pages of Detective Comics. He’s gone through many different incarnations, but has been a mainstay in Batman’s rogues gallery. Safran, at that same press event, explained a little more broadly what we can expect from the movie.
“This summer, cameras are going to roll on Clayface, an incredible body horror film that reveals a compelling origin of a classic Batman villain, and this is another title that we added to the slate on the strength of an exceptional screenplay by Mike Flanagan.
I think some of you are probably aware that we’re in negotiations with James Watkins now to direct, and we’ll start casting this as soon as we have the director deal done and we’ll shoot this summer. It’s slated for a fall 2026 release. Clayface might not be as widely known as The Penguin or The Joker, but we really feel that his story is equally resonant, compelling, and in many ways, more terrifying than one of those.”
Clayface is set to hit theaters on September 11, 2026.
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