James Gunn Shuts Down CLAYFACE Rewrite Rumor: “It’s All Mike [Flanagan's] Story”
After a recent report surfaced that screenwriter Hossein Amini had come on to rewrite Mike Flanagan’s script for Clayface, DC Studios co-head and self-declared “Flanafan” James Gunn stepped in to set the record straight.
When asked directly by a fan on Threads, “How much of Mike’s story are you planning to keep?” Gunn responded:
“Huh? It’s all Mike’s story. That’s WHY we’re making this movie, because we loved it. Any changes as the shooting script is finalized are minor. I’m a Flanafan myself.”
So, if there was any doubt about Flanagan’s vision still being at the heart of Clayface, consider it squashed. Gunn’s comments confirm that the story remains intact, despite rumors of a full rewrite.
This comes after Clayface was quietly greenlit late last year, outside the initial DCU Chapter One announcement, and has since been in slow but steady development.
Things began heating up again with the casting of White Lines star Tom Rhys Harries in the lead role. Gunn praised the choice, posting:
“After a long and incredibly exhaustive search, we finally have our DCU Clayface in Tom Rhys Harries. Both Matt Reeves and I were just blown away by this guy, and can’t wait for you to see this film.”
The film will be directed by James Watkins (The Woman in Black), and while it’s not officially part of Gunn’s Gods and Monsters slate, and its exact placement in the broader DCU is still a bit of a mystery.
Flanagan previously opened up about the DC project and confirmed that his version of Clayface was heavily inspired by the acclaimed two-part Batman: The Animated Series episode “Feat of Clay.”
When asked if his script was inspired by that, Flanagan said: “Of course it was. I mean that is the perfect [story]. ‘Feat of Clay,’ Ron Perlman, to me, that’s it. That two-parter knocked me out. The short answer is that is absolutely that is what inspired my script.
“That is the world I wanted to live in. Batman: The Animated Series when I was growing up was my Batman. As much as [Michael] Keaton was my Batman, The Animated Series really was my Batman.”
With Superman arriving in July 2025 to officially launch the new DC Universe, Clayface will follow a little over a year later, bringing some shape-shifting horror to the mix when it hits theaters on September 11, 2026.