Skip to main content

Clayface director reveals how many times he had to redesign the DC villain's final form

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support
  • Clayface's director says nearly 20 different versions of the villain's final form were made
  • Two animated series were key influences on the design that was eventually settled on
  • James Watkins also confirms he was given "free rein" to make it as grotesque as possible

Full spoilers follow for Clayface, including its finale.

The director of Clayface has revealed that the DC villain's live-action form was reshaped nearly 20 times before the final design was locked in.

Ahead of the body horror movie's release in late October, I sat down for an exclusive chat with James Watkins to discuss how the latest DC Universe (DCU) flick was sculpted.

About midway through our conversation, I steered it into full spoiler territory, including how Watkins and company brought the Batman rogue to life not only in live-action for the first time, but also in all of his grotesque glory.

Unsurprisingly, there have been many iterations of the character in myriad DC comic book runs, video games, and animated offerings, the latter of which counts beloved Saturday morning cartoon Batman: The Animated Series among its number.

Matt Hagen looking in a shop window as his face melts in DC Studios' Clayface movie

Matt Hagen's full transformation is held back until the final minutes of the film's third act (Image credit: DC Studios/Warner Bros. Pictures)

With the aforementioned program's two-part tale 'Feat of Clay' serving as a key inspiration for Clayface, was that the primary influence for the eponymous antagonist's final design? Or did other versions of the character also serve to inform Matt Hagen's full transformation into the metamorphosing monstrosity?

Read more of my exclusive Clayface coverage

- Where does Clayface sit on the DCU timeline? Its director has a non-answer for you
- Clayface director explains why the DC villain's reframing as an anti-hero 'doesn't really matter'

"We looked at all the comics," Watkins said, "We also looked at 'Feet of Clay' and Creature Commandos, so there are a lot of versions we looked at, and then we were mindful of it [the final design] having to look right in live-action, rather than just as [if it's been pulled from] a comic book.

"I guess the key thing for this interpretation is the emotion," Watkins continued. "We spent hours obsessing about the pain in his eyes, the pain in his voice when he screams, the man trapped inside the monster, and the sense of that duality that I guess he has. We made about 17 different versions trying to find the monster, while also making sure that we could identify [Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen]."

Clayface attacking Rick Flag Sr. in Creature Commandos season 1

Creature Commandos season 1, which came out in late 2024, marked Clayface's official debut in the DCU (Image credit: Max)

Watkins name-dropping Creature Commandos won't come as a shock to fans. The adult animated show, which was also the first DCU Chapter One project to be released, included Clayface as part of its plot, with Hagen's alter-ego having a small but significant role to play.

So, when it came to moulding Clayface's live-action design, was Watkins limited by the character's prior animated appearance?

"No, I had free rein," the filmmaker revealed. "It was all on me."

Heading out to see Watkins' latest feature this weekend? Read my Clayface review before you do.



via Hosting & Support
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Web Hosting
Remote IT Support
Sites & Socials

Popular posts from this blog

Last orders! Breville’s Birthday Sale ends in 24 hours – save an extra 10% on already-discounted espresso machines with our exclusive code

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support It’s been a busy month for coffee machine maestro, Breville. Not only did it celebrate International Coffee Day at the start of the month, but this October is also the company’s birthday month. And to mark the occasion, you can save up to AU$550 on a range of top-performing espresso machines . And that’s not all, as you can save a further 10% on discounted models with our exclusive Breville coupon code . Alternatively, you can use our exclusive promo code sitewide on the complete range of Breville appliances. You’ll need to hurry though, as the Breville Birthday Sale comes to a close at 11:30pm AEDT 21 October. Breville is, of course, responsible for some of the best coffee machines in Australia , and as a result, it can make choosing the ideal model for your household a little bit trickier. To help guide you to cafe-quality coffee at home, I’ve picked out so...
Post a Comment
Read more

UK small businesses are spending big on Anthropic — but OpenAI isn't far behind as expenditure on AI tools hits new high

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support An estimated 1 out of every 8 UK small and medium businesses are paying for AI tools Over 28% of SMEs are using two or more AI platforms Publishing is the main UK sector adopting AI British SMEs are moving toward AI solutions, with adoption increasing from 1.1% in 2023 to 12.8% in 2026, new research has claimed. The study , by small business credit card providers Capital on Tap, also shows that while smaller companies may have more modest budgets, they’re still happy to spread their bets when it comes to choosing an AI solution. Over 28% of SMEs are using multiple AI platforms – with Anthropic’s Claude just edging out OpenAI’s ChatGPT, with the average quarterly spend growing to a quarterly average of £75.60 per SME. SMEs explore AI Anthropic is the most popular AI provider among British SMEs according to the research, with those businesses devoting 54.1% of ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mova V70 Ultra Complete review: a full-featured robovac let down by subpar performance

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support Mova V70 Ultra Complete: Two-minute review If you've never heard of Mova as a brand, you're not alone as it was initially only available in select European and South-East Asian countries. The brand, which is owned by Dreame Technology, is now expanding and is supposed to be value-focused side of the company — although you'd be hard pressed to believe that when its latest flagship robot vacuum costs upwards $1,000 / £1,000 / AU$3,000. However, the Mova V70 Ultra Complete brings everything you expect from such an expensive robovac, including some industry-first features that are now being adopted by other brands. This includes suction that's a whopping 42,000Pa at its maximum, as well as the impressively long reach of the side brush and mopping arm (12cm and 17cm respectively). I even love the fact that it eliminates the need for dust bags by us...
Post a Comment
Read more