Thespian Extraordiannaire: The Clayface Thread

[Kane52630]

@Boom
George MacKay for Clayface

 

[Kane52630]

Also since multiple characters have become Clayface, I wouldn't be surprised if Reeves invents a new character with a different origins, but still has the Clayface abilities.

 

[Gothamsknight]

Also since multiple characters have become Clayface, I wouldn't be surprised if Reeves invents a new character with a different origins, but still have the Clayface abilities.

I'm honestly down for this. I'm fully expecting something totally new for this Clayface anyways.

 

[Invader Joker]

Gordon : "Jeeesus... Look Batman, that could be Clayface!"
Batman: "No. That's just Harisson Ford from 1977."



More seriously, I don't think they're going to bother finding a real impersonator.
This would certainly be an extraordinary performance to achieve, but it seems too complicated to find someone capable of specifically imitating the rest of this particular cast.

For a grounded version of Clayface I kinda feel they'll have no choice but to hire a real impersonator. Even doing the whole Mission Impossible/Face Off thing of having different actors play him and suddenly reveal it's somehow a perfect mask would feel extremely stupid in this version.

 

[BobJM]

@Boom
George MacKay for Clayface

I like Evan Peters for this

 

[BobJM]

Could be cool if Clayface is one of Strange’s monster men.

Then, spin him off to his own show/series by Mike Flanagan.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

For a grounded version of Clayface I kinda feel they'll have no choice but to hire a real impersonator. Even doing the whole Mission Impossible/Face Off thing of having different actors play him and suddenly reveal it's somehow a perfect mask would feel extremely stupid in this version.

I actually think watching someone in prosthetics do vocal impersonations of other actors would be far more off-putting. Especially because then you are relying on finding someone who is a great impersonator which is a million miles away from being a great actor - Anthony Ingruber for instance isn't terrible but he would be the weakest actor to play potentially one of the lead villains in a Batman film.

If it isn't dwelled upon it could work but a long scene of someone in a Pattinson face mask for example trying to do Pattinson's voice sounds potentially super weird in a bad way. Pattinson playing Karlo playing Pattinson sounds more interesting to me.

 

[Kane52630]

Evan Peters would be cool but I think he's overexposed as an actor, I kinda want someone who's a relative unknown and underseen as an actor like Mackay.

 

[BobJM]

 

[Invader Joker]

I actually think watching someone in prosthetics do vocal impersonations of other actors would be far more off-putting. Especially because then you are relying on finding someone who is a great impersonator which is a million miles away from being a great actor - Anthony Ingruber for instance isn't terrible but he would be the weakest actor to play potentially one of the lead villains in a Batman film.

If it isn't dwelled upon it could work but a long scene of someone in a Pattinson face mask for example trying to do Pattinson's voice sounds potentially super weird in a bad way. Pattinson playing Karlo playing Pattinson sounds more interesting to me.

I mean, that's even assuming there'll be long scenes of the Clayface actor in a Pattinson mask. It could very easily be that the whole Bruce impersonation thing could be a lot more subtle like having it through a low res CCTV camera that incriminates Bruce over something, which doesn't actually feel that unlikely in this universe; in fact it kinda feels like it'd be the most fitting one.
And yeah, it'd be tricky casting to do, but I don't think it's impossible to find a great impersonator that's also a great actor. Ingruber was just a suggestion, but they can easily find someone else, which makes the casting process a lot more exciting than just going for traditional names that everyone would like to see play creepy.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

Depending on how the character is portrayed this could be a classic Doug Jones role.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

I mean, that's even assuming there'll be long scenes of the Clayface actor in a Pattinson mask. It could very easily be that the whole Bruce impersonation thing could be a lot more subtle like having it through a low res CCTV camera that incriminates Bruce over something, which doesn't actually feel that unlikely.
And yeah, it'd be tricky casting to do, but I don't think it's impossible to find a great impersonator that's also a great actor. Ingruber was just a suggestion, but they can easily find someone else, which makes the casting process a lot more exciting than just going for traditional names that everyone would like to see play creepy.

Then that would be fine, yes. Clayface is a trickier villain to speculate about than normal I am finding because he's technically multiple characters and there are about ninety seven different things Reeves could do with him - it isn't like Riddler or Joker where, yeah, there's variation but there are always some solid fundamentals that ain't gonna change.

Feel like there's potential for some thematic stuff about erosion of truth with Clayface. Like mud-based deepfaking.

 

[Invader Joker]

Then that would be fine, yes. Clayface is a trickier villain to speculate about than normal I am finding because he's technically multiple characters and there are about ninety seven different things Reeves could do with him - it isn't like Riddler or Joker where, yeah, there's variation but there are always some solid fundamentals that ain't gonna change.

Feel like there's potential for some thematic stuff about erosion of truth with Clayface. Like mud-based deepfaking.

It's really hard to guess, but with how Reeves mind has seemed to work in terms of always looking to find the most practical way to do things, and his general sensibilities, I could easily see a scenario where:
1. He was inspired to do Clayface because of Mike Marino's prosthetics and sees this as an opportunity to push them to their limits to do storytelling, same way he pushed motion capture to its limits with Apes.
2. He's interested on the deepfaking/erosion of the truth aspect since it ties into things that are currently happening right now.
3. He finds the prospect of finding an actor that can conceivably impersonate a bunch of people and give a great performance exciting.
4. He finds the challenge of pulling this off in as much of a grounded/realistic manner exciting.

To me even the Mission Impossible thing kinda goes against all of what his general sensibilities seem to be. I could be wrong, but I think it's precisely the challenge of finding the most practical of practical ways to do Clayface that he's interested in.

 

[BobJM]

Feel like there's potential for some thematic stuff about erosion of truth with Clayface. Like mud-based deepfaking.

Fake news! Half-joking, half serious…

I’ve been rewatching House of Cards lately, and there’s a great storyline in Season 4 (maybe 5?) where the President is purposefully inflating the domestic terrorism threat level during the election season to create chaos and “muddy up” the truth…If you create enough chaos, and instill fear, you can control the outcome. Maybe Clayface has his own motives, or maybe he’s a tool for Hush/Court of Owls/Hugo Strange.

 

[BobJM]

It's really hard to guess, but with how Reeves mind has seemed to work in terms of always looking to find the most practical way to do things, and his general sensibilities, I could easily see a scenario where:
1. He was inspired to do Clayface because of Mike Marino's prosthetics and sees this as an opportunity to push them to their limits to do storytelling, same way he pushed motion capture to its limits with Apes.
2. He's interested on the deepfaking/erosion of the truth aspect since it ties into things that are currently happening right now.
3. He finds the prospect of finding an actor that can conceivably impersonate a bunch of people and give a great performance exciting.
4. He finds the challenge of pulling this off in as much of a grounded/realistic manner exciting.

To me even the Mission Impossible thing kinda goes against all of what his general sensibilities seem to be. I could be wrong, but I think it's precisely the challenge of finding the most practical of practical ways to do Clayface that he's interested in.

If Clayface doesn’t indeed appear, I’m suspecting him to be a bit closer to Earth One. It’ll be a more subtle Clayface, most likely, as I don’t think we’re going to see a big mud monster (though that’d be everything). But I agree, I’d hate if he’s just reduced to high-tech masks.

It’d be cool if his face/appearance was malleable to a certain degree, and he accentuates his disguises with additional small prosthetics and studied mannerisms.

 

[Invader Joker]

Could even be the entire plot of the film revolves around a political candidate like maybe Harvey Dent (ughhh) being framed for a murder with video footage incriminating him, and it's up to Batman to find out who the real culprit is and what actually happened, leading him down a rabbithole of finding multiple murders made by an impersonator that ties into a greater conspiracy.

 

[Invader Joker]

If Clayface doesn’t indeed appear, I’m suspecting him to be a bit closer to Earth One. It’ll be a more subtle Clayface, most likely, as I don’t think we’re going to see a big mud monster (though that’d be everything). But I agree, I’d hate if he’s just reduced to high-tech masks.

It’d be cool if his face/appearance was malleable to a certain degree, and he accentuates his disguises with additional small prosthetics and studied mannerisms.

Oh no, I don't think it'll even be the Earth One version. I think it'd be a completely practical version where he's a prosthetics VFX artist that uses his skills to do several high quality prosthetic masks that allow him to impersonate and frame people for his crimes. Could even be that his whole MO is studying people that he can realistically impersonate with his prosthetics, stalking them and spending time doing these fully realized models of them before he strikes on his actual victim. What I'm talking about is that I don't think Reeves will just do the Mission Impossible thing where it's like, John Turturro peeling his face off with CGI revealing to be Bill Skarsgard underneath lol

 

[BobJM]

Oh no, I don't think it'll even be the Earth One version. I think it'd be a completely practical version where he's a prosthetics VFX artist that uses his skills to do several high quality prosthetic masks that allow him to impersonate and frame people for his crimes. Could even be that his whole MO is studying people that he can realistically impersonate with his prosthetics, stalking them and spending time doing these fully realized models of them before he strikes on his actual victim. What I'm talking about is that I don't think Reeves will just do the Mission Impossible thing where it's like, John Turturro peeling his face off with CGI revealing to be Bill Skarsgard underneath lol

Ah, got you. I’d like to find a happy medium lol—I like a little horror when it comes to my Clayface. Just some mushy skin he can move around lol give himself a bigger brow, longer nose, whatever, lol. When the camera spins around, it’s now the Harvey Dent actor sitting in Clayface’s chair, finalizing the look by putting on his USA flag pin or adjusting his hair piece.

 

[BobJM]

Could even be the entire plot of the film revolves around a political candidate like maybe Harvey Dent (ughhh) being framed for a murder with video footage incriminating him, and it's up to Batman to find out who the real culprit is and what actually happened, leading him down a rabbithole of finding multiple murders made by an impersonator that ties into a greater conspiracy.

I could be about this. Batman still fails to save Harvey and he’s horribly scarred, etc. etc.

Part of me would like to see Clayface frame Bruce Wayne though (not the most original idea). It could be the catalyst that gets Bruce back into the public eye to defend his name. Maybe Dent’s prosecuting him…

 

[Invader Joker]

Ah, got you. I’d like to find a happy medium lol—I like a little horror when it comes to my Clayface. Just some mushy skin he can move around lol give himself a bigger brow, longer nose, whatever, lol. When the camera spins around, it’s now the Harvey Dent actor sitting in Clayface’s chair, finalizing the look by putting on his USA flag pin or adjusting his hair piece.

To me the idea of someone spending time carefully stalking you several months, taking pictures of you, voice recordings, and doing entire face and body models on his apartment to incriminate you over a horrific crime and ruin your life is "horror" enough. In fact depending on how practical they go about it, it could be really creepy if they make it so practical it feels like it could happen to you.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

To me the idea of someone spending time carefully stalking you several months, taking pictures of you, voice recordings, and doing entire face and body models on his apartment to incriminate you over a horrific crime and ruin your life is "horror" enough. In fact depending on how practical they go about it, it could be really creepy if they make it so practical it feels like it could happen to you.

Regardless of how Clayface's, err, face works this is exactly what the film should tap into with him.

 

[BobJM]

To me the idea of someone spending time carefully stalking you several months, taking pictures of you, voice recordings, and doing entire face and body models on his apartment to incriminate you over a horrific crime and ruin your life is "horror" enough. In fact depending on how practical they go about it, it could be really creepy if they make it so practical it feels like it could happen to you.

Yes to all of that, but I still tend to be wary of stripping away too many familiar elements when adapting characters. I know people keep referencing OG Clayface but admittedly, I only know the character post-BTAS.

Part of the fun of Clayface, for me, is the clay face lol. Even if it’s toned down, I’d still like to see some sort of skin affliction or malleability—to some degree.

 

[Johnny Frost]

Pode até ser que todo o enredo do filme gira em torno de um candidato político como talvez Harvey Dent (ughhh) sendo acusado de um assassinato com imagens de vídeo incriminando-o, e é até Batman para descobrir quem é o verdadeiro culpado e o que realmente aconteceu, levando-o a encontrar vários assassinatos cometidos por um imitador que se relacionam com uma conspiração maior.

Melhor ainda, Bruce Wayne é acusado de algum crime e Batman tem que investigar a tempo de provar sua inocência enquanto ele é um fugitivo.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

I like the idea of Clayface using deep fake technology to expose how such technology makes it easy to misinform and mislead. Especially media and state entities.

 

[J.Drangal]

I like the idea of Clayface using deep fake technology to expose how such technology makes it easy to misinform and mislead. Especially media and state entities.

I don't know if this formula exists in English but, to me, this would be a "false good idea".
I totally understand how logical it is to think of deepfake to make create a more contemporary take of a character who's supposed to be a master of disguise and manipulation. I honestly thought about it too.
But ultimately (or at least for now) I think there's a risk losing the original character in the process here. I won't say it's the same as "Mr.Freeze could be a serial killer placing his victim in refrigerator", but I think it's fundamental for Clayface to use organic tricks rather than digital effects.

Yes to all of that, but I still tend to be wary of stripping away too many familiar elements when adapting characters. I know people keep referencing OG Clayface but admittedly, I only know the character post-BTAS.

Part of the fun of Clayface, for me, is the clay face lol. Even if it’s toned down, I’d still like to see some sort of skin affliction or malleability—to some degree.

I agree. The giant clay monster can be avoided if it doesn't fit this universe, but I think the body horror dimension is now a must for this character. Even if he originally started somewhere else, I'm pretty sure most fans, casual fans, and people with a basic knowledge of the character through cartoons and games, are expecting it in some way.

I thought of a version of Clayface being a man having, voluntarily or not, removed all the relief from his face. No nose, hollowed out cheeks, planed chin, etc.
In the movie diegesis, this would give him the ability to recreate any type of new face over it with his prosthesis. From a filmmaking standpoint, this would be a way to provide the body horror dimension, sometimes showing his horrible physique without his makeup or having him lose some of it during fight or chase scenes, etc.

But that could also make him look like the Chameleon from Spiderman, so I don't know...

 

[BobJM]

I agree. The giant clay monster can be avoided if it doesn't fit this universe, but I think the body horror dimension is now a must for this character. Even if he originally started somewhere else, I'm pretty sure most fans, casual fans, and people with a basic knowledge of the character through cartoons and games, are expecting it in some way.

I thought of a version of Clayface being a man having, voluntarily or not, removed all the relief from his face. No nose, hollowed out cheeks, planed chin, etc.
In the movie diegesis, this would give him the ability to recreate any type of new face over it with his prosthesis. From a filmmaking standpoint, this would be a way to provide the body horror dimension, sometimes showing his horrible physique without his makeup or having him lose some of it during fight or chase scenes, etc.

But that could also make him look like the Chameleon from Spiderman, so I don't know...

At this point, an MCU Chameleon would probably be a Skrull or use one of those digital masks that BW used in The Winter Soldier. I'm less concerned about comparisons to villains/comic characters that aren't as well known/never been featured in a live action film, but I do want some element of the "body horror" to be retained for any/all Clayface adaptation.

I'd prefer classic BTAS Clayface (I still think that The Batman universe is in a prime spot to elevate to the fantastical) but I'll settle for something closer to Earth One if that's where Reeves is heading...