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Clayface director added DCU movie’s best scene to script “quite late in the process”
Director James Watkins says Clayface’s shapeshifting attack on a mobster’s club was added to Mike Flanagan’s script late in development. Watkins wanted the sequence to build tension like a castle siege, while showing Matt enjoying the darker side of his powers.
In the scene, Matt enters Vesuvius to confront mobster Markos Szabo, then frightens Szabo’s girlfriend by shifting between himself and Szabo’s aide before taking on the gang in different forms. The film opened to $24 million domestically and has grossed $43 million worldwide against a $44 million budget; it has a 75% critics’ score and 94% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
In short
- Watkins added the club sequence late in development.
- The scene explores Matt’s enjoyment of his powers.
- Clayface has grossed $43 million worldwide.
Explained simply
Clayface is a DC character whose body can change shape, allowing him to take on other people’s appearances and forms. In the film, Matt is the person who develops these powers, which affect both how he confronts others and how he sees himself.
Vesuvius is a club where mobster Markos Szabo and his gang gather. The confrontation there brings Matt’s new abilities into contact with organised crime, and shows him using the powers in ways that frighten people around him.
The story is part of the wider DC universe, a shared setting for films and characters including Batman and Superman. The film’s reception and box-office figures matter to its prospects, while its production budget provides context for how its earnings are assessed.