You would think that they had learned from all the Spider-villain movies crashing and burning,or Joker:Folie a Deux doing the same.

Does the world really need a whole movie about Clayface?

I see they're following the Sony model of hero-less movies.

We all know the answer...and yet, we're getting one anyhow.

I don't really know anything about the modern day Clayface monster except that it's a super power, shape changing,
probably still has the ability to look like other people.

I am just remembering the early Clayface, Basil Karlo, B-list actor. I liked that idea and that he was a master of a 1000
faces or somesuch.

Anyway, I was just thinking that the way that I might approach a hero-less Clayface movie would be to begin with the
actor, whose stage disguises and whatnot (perhaps also claymation stop-frame animation) just have no room anymore in
modern day world of CGI and AI animation. Too costly, too much time required. He's out of work, bitter. This would easily
resonate with artists who are losing their careers to computer AIs.

So, Basil decides to turn his skills to crime using the Clayface gimmick/disguises. Along the way, whatever, he "Red Hoods"
himself into a vat of acid or what have you and gains superpowers. Maybe then, with those, he goes back into the
film industry (because he's a fucking actor and film producer, damnit!), not revealing how he is doing his special effects with
super powers. But his shit looks better than the AI does. Then, other criminals from his past turn up to blackmail, threatening
to expose Basil as a former criminal and current monster if he doesn't give them most of his new movie profits. Bad move on
their part. Now the mud hits the fan.

Could be fun. Afterwards once his life is exposed and ruined, he can just be a Batman villain with super powers.

That'll make slightly more than Madame Web and less than Morbius.

You'd think they would look at that as a warning, not a suggestion.

"Gunn can make it work."

To be fair, the Clayface movie has a script by Mike Flanagan, whose writing, producing and directing on such films as Doctor Sleep and Gerald's Game and Netflix series The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, and The Fall of the House of Usher are very well-regarded. So this could be a quality film. I mean, people love pointing to Joker: Folie à Deux as evidence of how this is going to suck, but that conveniently ignores the fact that the first Joker film by the same team was a massive hit. The mistake there was that Phillips and Phoenix were allowed to do whatever they wanted on the follow-up and they thought they were artists and were allowed to spend whatever they wanted with no restrictions to their whims. Studio oversight likely would've helped quash their massively expensive depressing art film.

That's the thing about comic books. You can let creators run wild and experiment, and they aren't losing tens of millions of dollars.

How much of the movie will he retain his real face?

Although I am a lifelong Batman fan, I haven't really enjoyed a Batman film since Tim Burton and Michael Keaton.
I don't care for Mike Flanagan's writing in the movies and TV series of his that I've watched (One of my daughters is a fan so I've watched far more than I would've, given my druthers.)
I have never enjoyed the Clayface character in comics. A few episodes of Timm & Dini's Batman the Animated Series with him were okay.

Given all that, why am I cautiously optimistic about this film? I am even quite willing to attempt to watch it streaming for free. I confuse myself.

My understanding is that, unlike all the Spider-Man villain movies, this will just be a fairly inexpensive one-off movie. Low risk and low reward. It's not expected to be part of the groundwork for a big villain team-up movie later on nor is it the latest chapter in the ongoing DC Cinematic Universe or whatever.

Clayface isn't one of my favorite Batman villains either but Mike Flanagan's involvement is a big plus for me, so I will definitely be there.

Yes, I think the fact it's just a low budget, genre, side project is what is making me look forward to it.