Fans eager to see Mike Flanagan’sClayfacemovie will apparently not be getting the celebrated filmmaker’s DC horror project exactly as he wrote it, as it seemsDriveandThe Wings of the DovescreenwriterHossein Aminihas been drafted in to rewrite the movie. While it has not been revealed the extent of those rewrites, it seems likely that they will be substantial enough to meanMike Flanaganfans will not be seeing the movie that theHaunting of Hill HouseandDoctor Sleepdirector intended.
According toThe Wrap, the villain-centric movie will now be getting an overhaul before cameras roll in the U.K. this October under the direction of James Watkins. Flanagan has been incredibly successful in the last decade as the creator of several incredible series at Netflix, includingMidnight Mass, The Fall of the House of Usher, and the aforementionedThe Haunting of Hill House. However, his breadth of work has also expanded to several Stephen King projects, withhis latest beingThe Life of Chuck, starring Tom Hiddleson, and will continue with a new adaptation ofCarrieand an ambitiousDark Towerproject.
James Gunn Says Mike Flanagan’s Batman Villain Spinoff Has “One of the Best Scripts” in the New DCU
James Gunn and Peter Safran are very excited at the idea of a horror film in the DCU.
Apparently, though, Flanagan’s script for the DCU’sClayfacemovie is not quite the film that James Gunn and Peter Safran are looking for, despite Gunn previously praising it as being one of the best scripts of any DCU project. While we will never know what changes will be made to Flanagan’s original draft – at least not until someone asks the filmmaker somewhere down the line – it will no doubt be brought up on many social media posts if the film doesn’t live up to standards.
‘Clayface’ Was an Unexpected DCU Addition, but Could Replace ‘Swamp Thing’
When James Gunn announced the bold line-up of the new DCU, there were some unexpected projects on the list,including an R-ratedSwamp Thingmovie. Proving that Gunn and Safran were not out to play by the family-friendly rules that the MCU played by for much of its existence,Swamp Thingtapped James Mangold as director and formed part of a packed slate of films and TV shows.
However, there has been a lot of doubt over whetherSwamp Thingwill actually happen, with James Mangold seemingly choosing to directA Complete Unknown, and now expected to move onto hisStar Warsmovie. Safran previously explained that while a number of projects have been announced, things do change, and as theSwamp Thingmovie was all about Mangold, it will have to wait, or even be scrapped. That could have paved the way forClayfaceto join the line-up as a late addition.
While nothing is ever certain in Hollywood, there is nothing that causes a stir more than constant rewrites, cancelations, and unexpected changes. With the DCU still to prove itself in a live-action arena with this summer’sSuperman, Gunn and Safran have a rocky road ahead of them as they head deeper into their DCU journey.
