New Report Suggests Mike Flanagan’s ‘Clayface’ Script Is Getting Thrown Out, And A New Writer Is Reworking The Story
Mere days after the Sgt. Rock news, where the best-case scenario is the production has been postponed, another DC Studios project might be in jeopardy. Clayface slithered up the chain to fast-track status when few were paying attention due entirely to co-president James Gunn’s reaction to a script by chilling Netflix miniseries maestro Mike Flanagan.
However, the honeymoon phase of oohs, ahhs, and butterflies might have passed according to a new report by Jeff Sneider (by way of World of Reel). He says a new unnamed was brought aboard to do a complete overhaul of Flanagan’s script, which was considered a draft in an “early form.” So, Gunn might not consider it a shooting script, but the diagnosis Sneider hears is worse than that as the inadequacies of Flanagan’s screenplay can’t be fixed with changes here and there.
It reportedly requires a page-one rewrite, as in Gunn and the new writer are starting over from scratch. This may impinge Flanagan’s screen credit, at least for the screenplay if not the story, but may fix a problem with the movie we previously reported. Clayface is supposedly about an actor – maybe Matt Hagen, maybe Basil Karlo – who takes an experimental chemical to save his career and suffers the unintended side effects.
If that sounds suspiciously similar to the Oscar contender The Substance to you, you’re not alone. Almost since it was announced, Clayface was drawing parallels to last year’s body horror hit from France’s Coralie Fargeat to the point it seemed to be riding Fargeat’s coattails too closely. It’s possible that James Gunn or David Zaslav see the similarities and don’t want to be accused of copying homework and wish to create something more unique.
It could also be the case that they are listening to the concerns of their director. Speak No Evil’s James Watkins signed on to direct Clayface after months of speculation and may want to do everything he can to tailor the production to his tastes. Watkins might have read Flanagan’s treatment and determined he could not work with it. This happens all the time; even the great Alfred Hitchcock rewrote scripts he was unhappy with.
Beyond creative differences, something else could decide the fate of Clayface, Sgt. Rock (if it has any hope left), and the entire DCU. That something is Superman, which could underperform (as WoR notes), and put any plans for more DC films on hold.
READ MORE: New Details Make DC Studios’ ‘Clayface’ Movie Sound Like A Rip-Off Of ‘The Substance’
