James Gunn and Peter Safran handed James Watkins the keys to Clayface and trusted him not to turn the DC horror experiment into another superhero crowd-pleaser. The DC Studios bosses gave the director considerable creative freedom, leaving the filmmaker room to follow his own vision. Now, Watkins is making one thing crystal clear: if audiences do not like Clayface, the blame rests entirely on him.

The R-rated film lets James Watkins explore the darker corners of DC, with the director embracing the freedom to make Clayface his own rather than pointing fingers at the studio bosses.

James Gunn apparently looked at James Watkins’ plans for Clayface, saw enough gruesome body horror to wince, and decided that the director should carry on regardless. That trust has become a talking point after Gunn praised their collaboration on Instagram, calling it “a pleasure” to work with Watkins. Now, the filmmaker has explained why he has no complaints about working inside DC Studios.

“I say to people, if you don’t like the film, you can’t blame them. It’s on me because I had all the support,” he told The Hollywood Reporter.

Watkins is not offering that disclaimer because DC Studios kept him on a short leash. Quite the opposite, as previously repeated, when he pitched his vision to Gunn and Peter Safran, he brought graphic imagery and details of the film’s body-horror elements to the table.

Some ideas apparently made Gunn wince or look away, but the executive’s response was to encourage Watkins to “lean in” rather than pull back. The director wanted to preserve Mike Flanagan’s description of the screenplay as “a tragedy in three acts” while keeping audiences invested in the protagonist.

James Gunn’s public praise has continued to underline how positively he views the collaboration, and Watkins has been equally candid about the freedom he received from DC Studios. The director also praised his experience working with Peter Safran, Matt Reeves and producer Lynn Harris, explaining that the team supported his interpretation of the script.

In Hollywood, where creative compromises can become part of the job description, Clayface seems to have offered Watkins a rather welcome exception, as per what he told to The Hollywood Reporter.

"I Liked the Standalone Nature"- James Watkins Addresses the Big Question of a 'Clayface' Sequel

Matt Reeves has joined James Gunn in praising Clayface, and James Watkins revealed that the support from Gunn and Peter Safran went well beyond a simple thumbs-up.

James Gunn and Peter Safran’s support for James Watkins extended beyond creative freedom on Clayface, reaching into the director’s personal life when he needed it most. The filmmaker revealed that his father, Dr. George Watkins CBE, died suddenly while the production was in full swing. With the film still awaiting completion, the DC Studios bosses gave Watkins time to step away and grieve.

Watkins recalled how James Gunn and Peter Safran reached out, accommodated his need for time and treated him with kindness when finishing the film could easily have taken priority. The director said he would never forget how “classy” the executives were during such a difficult period. Their support, he explained, went well beyond backing his creative vision, showing that their commitment to Clayface’s director extended far beyond the production itself.

"I Liked the Standalone Nature"- James Watkins Addresses the Big Question of a 'Clayface' Sequel

Do you think people will even find an opportunity to blame James Watkins for Clayface instead of praising him? Let us know in the comments!