‘Eden Lake’ Filmmaker Directing ‘Clayface’ Movie Written by Mike Flanagan

Mike Flanagan (The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass, Doctor Sleep) is writing a Clayface movie for DC, and THR confirms this afternoon that a director has been found.

Flanagan himself will NOT be directing the upcoming Clayface movie, with James Watkins (Eden Lake, The Woman in Black, Speak No Evil) taking a seat in the director’s chair.

Warner Bros. will release DC’s live action Clayface movie on September 11, 2026.

The Hollywood Reporter details, “Sources say the film is budgeted at $40 million and is a Hollywood horror tale centering on a B-movie actor who injects himself with a substance to keep himself relevant, only to find out that he can reshape his face and form, becoming a walking piece of clay. The movie is due to shoot later this year.”

Flanagan tweeted back in 2021 that his dream Clayface movie was a “horror/thriller/tragedy,” and it sounds like that’s ultimately the movie he ended up writing for DC.

The Clayface character was introduced by DC Comics in Detective Comics #40 way back in June 1940, an adversary of Batman with a clay-like form and shapeshifting abilities. The character has been played on screen in both animation and live action, with actors including Alan Tudyk, Ron Perlman, Brian McManamon, and Lorraine Burroughs having played the role.

Matt Reeves (The Batman) and Lynn Harris will produce through 6th & Idaho Productions. And as a reminder, James Gunn and Peter Safran are now the heads of DC Studios.