- DCU's Clayface has taken inspiration from Batman: The Animated Series.
- According to writer Mike Flanagan, Clayface's Gotham City has been modelled by taking inspiration from Batman: The Animated Series.
- This is a good thing because by being connected to the upcoming movie's name, this animated show will not only pull a fresh audience towards it, but will also draw old timer fans to the theaters.
If you are an avid fan of the DC universe, there must have been a time when you had to take a lot of negativity from people because of the obvious reasons. However, that factor has had a major turnaround since James Gunn has taken control of the DCU with titles like Superman, Peacemaker, and Creature Commandos, and much more to come in the future. Now, the key factor that makes this new DCU much more interesting is the fact that it stays true to what DC has always been while paying homage to the legacy this franchise has had, and such is the case with the upcoming Clayface movie.
Clayface Circles Back to Batman: The Animated Series
Recently, Motor City Comic Con took place, where Mike Flanagan, the writer of the upcoming DCU Clayface movie, was in attendance. There, he gave valuable insight into the Gotham he has created for the upcoming movie and reflected upon whether he had taken any inspiration from the one we saw in Matt Reeves’ The Batman.
He elaborated on the topic by saying that when Clayface became a topic of discussion, he had not yet seen what Matt Reeves was up to. So, he went back and took inspiration from a two-part story from Batman: The Animated Series titled “Feat of Clay” and constructed his idea of Gotham City around it. In his comment, he said-
“When we first started talking about Clayface, I hadn’t seen what Matt was up to. So it went all the way back to “Feat of Clay”, that incredible two-parter with Ron Perlman voicing the character, which was so formative for me as a kid.”
While on the panel, he also shared how great an experience it was for Mike working with James Gunn and Peter Safran on this project. He shared that it, in fact, upset him that they were not able to start working on the movie right away because Mike was occupied.
Why Is This Callback to Batman: The Animated Series with DCU’s Clayface a Good Thing?
When we think of animated superhero shows, there is a very good chance that almost everyone is aware of Batman: The Animated Series. This show was the pinnacle of superhero television, where we get to see a Batman voiced by the legendary voice actor, Kevin Conroy. His voice became the identity of Batman for years to come. Now, since it has been a while since this series came out, the younger generation is not familiar with what DC used to be and is missing out on a show that was way ahead of its time.
The importance of this show being mentioned with the upcoming Clayface movie might not be on biblical levels, but it rather has more of a preservative value. When the younger people find out that this movie’s setting is designed after Batman: The Animated Series, they’d be intrigued to try it out, and the show, which is the reason a lot of people are fans of Batman and DC, will find a new audience for itself.
Another reason why it is a good thing is the factor of nostalgia. When people like me and probably you find out that a new movie’s set is being based on something that was a huge part of our childhood, we would naturally be intrigued to check it out, hence pulling more audience to the theaters. not because of flashy promotions, or anything else, but simply out of nostalgia rooted in our childhood, which I think is one of the best kinds of motivation to go watch a movie.
