Movies
After four James Gunn-heavy projects, the DC Universe is finally starting to feel unique thanks to the one-two punch of Lanterns and Clayface. James Watkins, the director of the latter, recently shared insight into making the R-rated body horror film that reveals the direction DC Studios should be going in with its shared universe.
This past summer, Supergirl opened in theater to mixed reviews. The DCU movie went on to underperform at the box office, becoming the franchise’s first flop. A week after its release, reports emerged that DC Studios took over post-production from director Craig Gillespie. The final theatrical cut is allegedly the studio’s own instead of Gillespie’s. This story brought brought to mind how Marvel Studios operates. The studio is famously known for having final creative control instead of the filmmakers, which has led to criticism that the MCU is too formulaic.
The DCU needs to remember it hired directors like James Watkins for a reason
Three months later, Clayface has arrived in theaters, and earned significantly better reviews than Supergirl. Critics have praised Tom Rhys Harries’ lead performance and the third-act fight scene at Vesuvius. In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Watkins revealed he was responsible for the addition of the crowd-pleasing sequence, explaining how he “wanted to beef up Matt’s journey upstairs [to confront mobster Markos Szabo].”
The director added, “I kept talking about capturing the feeling of Robin Hood movies, or a film like El Cid, where they storm the castle. I also wanted to show Matt discovering and experiencing the dark glee that comes with his powers. He’s been on quite a tough ride to that point, and I wanted to give the audience permission to enjoy the payback.”
There was much hullabaloo over the replacement of Mike Flanagan, who wrote the original draft of Clayface. That draft got the movie greenlit, but Flanagan was unable to direct it due to scheduling conflicts. But Watkins and co-writer Hossein Amini ended up creating the best part of the DCU movie, one that has been praised by critics and fans. It’s also a testament to the sort of direction that DC should be leaning further into. Unlike on Supergirl, where DC lost faith in Gillespie and took over final cut, the studio should step back and let its filmmakers do what they do best.
Watkins knows the horror genre, and that allowed him to take Flanagan’s script to the next level, which gave the DCU a moment audiences will not soon forget. In a world of Guardians of the Galaxy clones like Supergirl, Watkins can revel in knowing that he brought something new to the superhero table with Clayface.
That is the one lesson DC Studios needs to take away from its 2026 film slate: a less hands-on approach can yield better results. There’s no point in hiring experienced genre filmmakers to helm these projects if the end goal is to take over creative control in post-production, then eliminate that director’s style in favor of a generic studio one. Let’s hope DC’s learned that lesson now, because the last thing superhero fans need is another Supergirl.
Originally written for SuperHeroHype