The Haunting of Bly Manor's creator Mike Flanagan gave two very different answers when asked what DC Comics character-based film he'd like to direct.
"Well I've wanted to do a Superman movie since I was a kid, but I would also be really keen to do a standalone Clayface movie as a horror/thriller/tragedy," Flanagan revealed on Twitter. Many in the comments were excited about the prospect of Flanagan directing a film based on either character.
Superman/Clark Kent has been handled by many different directors, including Richard Donner, Richard Lester and Bryan Singer. The most recently released film to feature Superman, 2017's Justice League, was directed by Zack Snyder, who would later step down from production and be replaced by Joss Whedon. Snyder would also direct 2013's Man of Steel, 2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and the upcoming project, Zack Snyder's Justice League, all of which starred Henry Cavill as Superman.
Clayface, on the other hand, has yet to appear in any live-action films and has mostly been featured in animated projects such as The New Adventures of Batman, Batman: The Animated Series, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Young Justice and, most recently, Harley Quinn. Additionally, versions of the character have appeared in live-action TV series, including Fox's Gotham and Warner Bros.'s Birds of Prey.
First introduced in 1940's Detective Comics #40, Clayface is a monstrous character with a clay-like body and the ability to shapeshift. The first version of Clayface was an actor named Basil Karlo, who went on a killing spree before being stopped by Batman and Robin. The Basil Karlo-version of Clayface is probably the most well-known, however, several other characters have used the moniker, including Matt Hagen, Preston Payne, Sondra Fuller and Todd Russell.
The Haunting of Bly Manor is a horror/supernatural Netflix series that followed 2018's The Haunting of Hill House, both of which were created by Flanagan. Featuring several of the same cast members as The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor told a different story in a new setting. However, both featured characters being plagued by ghosts. The Haunting of Bly Manor received mostly positive reviews and has even been nominated for several Critics' Choice Super Awards in 2021. In addition to The Haunting of Bly Manor, Flanagan also directed several popular horror films, including 2011's Absentia, 2013's Oculus and 2016's Hush.
The Haunting of Bly Manor stars Victoria Pedretti, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Amelia Eve, T'Nia Miller, Rahul Kohli, Tahirah Sharif, Amelie Bea Smith, Benjamin Evan Ainsworth and Henry Thomas, with Kate Siegel, Katie Parker, Alex Essoe and Matthew Holness. It's currently available to stream on Netflix, as well as its sister season, The Haunting of Hill House.
Source: Twitter