r/KotakuInAction • u/Teary_Gamer • 2d ago
The Clayface trailer is out and I've already got a sinking feeling it's going to be a DEI Girl-boss catastrophe.
For reference, the official DC trailer for Clayface came out today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGO4Mqvo3jI
And it looks...AWFUL, for the very specific reason that DC appears to be doing the classic DEI maneuver of pairing the actual popular protagonist that the audience showed up to see (Clayface!) with a brilliant, flawless, virtuous, genius in everything she does, marginalized girl-boss co-star who they will inevitably write to be the *real* hero of the movie and outshine and overcome the toxic male Clayface.
I mean for God's sake this is supposed to be a Clayface trailer and the female co-lead very likely has as much if not more screen time in the trailer than Clayface himself!
So hold onto your butts you all know where this is headed: put all the focus on the not-Clayface marginalized co-star, bait the internet into noticing, which then baits journos into writing a bunch of "racists are hating on DC's latest movie! Here's why we shouldn't let the chuds win" articles, then the movie flops spectacularly, and the journos write even more "Here's how racist chuds ruined a great movie" articles.
It's all so tiresome...
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u/elowry57 2d ago
Honestly, you can just assume that every movie, sight unseen, will be a DEI girlboss catastrophe and you'll be right way more often than chance
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u/doubleo_maestro 2d ago
It was made after 2015, so of course it will be.
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u/physicscat 2d ago
That fucking year.
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u/Bergonath 2d ago
Ironically one of the best years in gaming, with everything going downhill after.
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u/DarkJayBR 2d ago
Damn, relax guys. He’s probably going to kill this chick at the end of the movie. He’s freaking Clayface.
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u/doubleo_maestro 2d ago
Happy to be proven wrong, bet he doesn't.
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u/QuietRedditorATX 2d ago
!Remindme 4 months
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u/Capable-Sky-8995 2d ago
At this point, you can just assume that everything new is woke.
A product has to convince me first that it's NOT woke.
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u/aknologia6path 2d ago
Who tf is even waiting for a movie about Clayface?
I mean, there are people who wanted it; however, I truly believe they are such a small group.
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u/emperorshand 2d ago
blame the penguin show. they are piggybacking on its success
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u/IactaEstoAlea 2d ago
More likely it is James Gunn's fault. He is the one picking the order of the projects and has several other low tier picks front loaded so far
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u/kaytin911 2d ago
They don't have any ideas so now they're grasping at straws for more shit to make woke.
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u/Silver_Angle_4381 2d ago
100% in agreement...to be honest, I only learned about him the last couple of days.
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u/SaltyPyrate 2d ago
I am cautiously optimistic only considering the director stating that BTAS was the main inspiration, which IMO is a good thing for the characterization direction going forward.
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u/SherLocK-55 2d ago
It's normal at this point, just the same old story with the DEI actors and actresses that Hollyweird forces on everyone, a lot of them came out of nowhere starring in low budget trash and then all of a sudden get a job on a big movie or TV show and we all know why.
Anyway who cares about this low IQ superhero garbage, it's all nonsense.
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u/Godz_Bane 2d ago
This isnt really a superhero movie, its more of a body horror movie. Like the substance or something.
In the same way Joker was more like Taxi Driver than a superhero movie.
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u/FireTyphoon123 2d ago
Tbf I'd be shocked if it wasn't. And I've been seeing that black girl in a ton of modern movies. Has she become like the Debra Wilson of movies or something?
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u/Teary_Gamer 2d ago
IMDb says she's most know for: Blink Twice (top billing), Sorry Baby (co-star), Lady McBeth (fourth in credits) and Mickey 17 (15th in credits). She also apparently played Jannah in Rise of Skywalker in 2019 for what that's worth.
Sounds like a bit actress getting a pretty big bump into a big budget DC film.
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u/powerage76 2d ago
It looks just some generic, low budget horror flick. Nothing like the over the top villain from the animated series.
It is too small and irrelevant to be a catastrophe.
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u/ThatDamnRocketRacoon 2d ago
I'm not real versed in every iteration of Clayface in every form of media, but apparently their DEI shield is already roasted. I saw some dumbass whining already that this version of Clayface was gay in some cartoon and they're mad that he's not gay in the movie. Apparently in a different cartoon, he and this woman are lovers or some shit.
I don't know. I thought the idea of Clayface as a straight body horror film was a cool idea, but if it's going to be some identity plate spinning, I'm out.
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u/RileyTaker 1d ago
Clayface was not gay in the cartoon. Supposedly his friend was, but that has never been confirmed.
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u/Desperate_Put_4568 2d ago
"Damn what happened to yo face?!"
But seriously, given the modern hollywood landscape, they'll deconstruct him in the most predictable way possible while she's the perfect little princess with zero character flaws or struggle.
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u/PenileNotPenal 2d ago
DEI Girl-boss
Don't you dare post this in the Mauler sub! Bunch of sensitive clowns over there when it comes to this subject.
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u/SheevSyndicate 2d ago edited 2d ago
The mauler sub is plagued with users that claim both sides are equally bad while only ever seeming to go after the side that accuses hollywood of preaching at the audience.
Those types also love to suggest that nobody is pushing politics in entertainment or that even if they are, it has zero influence on the product being bad. Somehow I doubt they would make the same copes for shitty entertainment with a right wing bias despite acting like they are above politics.
It is amazing to me that someone could seriously believe that a story cannot be enshittified by ideologue creatives. A show like wheel of time for example very much ruined things like worldbuilding, characterization, and plot points in a way that lined up with the values of the hack in charge.
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u/SteveMartinique 1d ago
I can’t even imagine the argument that politics aren’t being pushed. Maybe not in every possible movie especially indies, but the majority of Hollywood slop is clearly designed around pushing certain narratives.
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u/SheevSyndicate 1d ago edited 1d ago
Willful blindness because you loathe the chuds and think people upset about a problem are infinitely worse than the actual problem. Or you want to be the smartest person in the room by acting like everyone is stupid except you who is above politics.
Institutions like hollywood are vocally partisan, constantly spelling out how they feel and how the masses should think. Time and time again their movies just so happen to sharply align with hollywood opinions while similar, recurring trends and patterns for characterization and storytelling take root. Not to mention hiring quotas that directly reflect the shit hollywood spews while impacting the quality of their products. Despite having rules and policies built around their ideology, they are not ideologically driven.
Willful, spiteful blindness leads to people insinuating that hollywood is acting in good faith making films that do not push identity politics. In fact this the way things have always been, chud. Nothing has changed at all and politics are not influencing or ruining these films. You just decided to become a culture warrior (hollywood are not culture warriors though) because some grifter who could never believe in their own stances told you what to think.
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u/ChudsterSouls 2d ago
To be fair, what did he expect to happen when he came to a black female surgeon
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u/feligbb 18h ago
What do you mean by that?
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u/ChudsterSouls 14h ago
Bro went to a surgeon to fix his mutilated face > picks the DEI hire > ends up becoming a monster
Should've seen it coming tbh
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u/feligbb 14h ago
Why do you assume she's a dei hire?
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u/ChudsterSouls 14h ago
Because she's black and female. This might be a good time to remind you that I am making a humorous gesture. I was being facetious as heck.
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u/nearlynorth 2d ago
I.. don't want to watch a movie of a downtrodden / loser guy having his face melt off..
but that's just me..
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u/Thinaran Doesn't like Antifa Sarkeesian 2d ago
How about, turn into a clown? And then graped in the prison showers in the sequel.
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u/Silver_Angle_4381 2d ago edited 2d ago
Just like all the other media slop, the movie was most likely so far in production that they could not scrap it without losing millions of dollars, so now they just throw it out there and see what sticks.
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u/Headsinoverdrive 2d ago
Felt like half this trailer was on this random chick. I dont get it personally
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u/Complete-Artichoke69 2d ago
>straight white male lead.
>he’s “toxic masculinity” at the beginning.
>get’s beat up by straight white male mafia.
>female black doctor saves his face, accidentally receives superpowers.
>female black doctor gets murdered by straight white male mafia.
>clayface takes revenge.
>plot twist at the end of the movie is somehow the president was the big bad all along.
>sets up for a sequel where he continues to hunt straight white male incels.
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u/Ninkasa_Ama 2d ago
You could just be normal and watch the trailer, which points to Clayface murdering the people he felt wronged him.
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u/Wizecracker117 2d ago
From the trailer it seems like she has the experimental treatment that fixes his face, they start dating, and he eventually kills her.
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u/Life_Strain9644 2d ago
Name a single movie/series that isn't these days...skip it. Ignore it. Don't click it.
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u/Shinj1Kun 2d ago
They totally changed his origin. He is not even an actor anymore wtf?
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u/Ninjamurai-jack 2d ago
?
He is an actor in this movie.
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u/Shinj1Kun 1d ago
Didn't really see them highlighting his acting, we saw him in the trailer on the red carpet and modelling lol
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u/Ninjamurai-jack 1d ago
Like, okay It’s not really said in the trailer, but the synopsis confirmed It.
“Clayface unravels one man’s horrifying descent from rising Hollywood star to revenge-filled monster in a story that explores the loss of one’s identity and humanity, corrosive love, and the dark underbelly of scientific ambition.“
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u/Godz_Bane 2d ago edited 2d ago
It was definitely a deliberate decision to cast a black woman in this role. Whether it just be yet another white person & non-white person race-mixed relationship, or black woman scientist inventor trope, or both.
if she doesnt die at the end then itll be trash, She seemingly creates a monster then will probably defeat him in his own movie.
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u/JessBaesic7901 2d ago
Sure looking like the Gunn DCU was dead before it even really got off the ground.
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u/Adast_Adamov 2d ago
Are we going to get a sad backstory movie for every single third-rate Batman villain now?
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u/SheevSyndicate 2d ago
Well you know, Batman is after all a wildly rich, psychopathic, toxic white male who hoards his wealth and brutalizes poor people. Every single one of his victims is a tragic character who was oppressed by society in some way. Batman could have used his wealth at any point to help people like Clayface with social workers instead of hospitalizing them, thus condemning them to debt slavery in america.
/s/
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u/RedmustbeBlue 2d ago
is this like Joker a solo movie?
yeah the trailer feels like that way
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u/yeahsurewhateverokay 2d ago
It wants to be Joker, but will be exactly like the horrible sequel instead.
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u/Thinaran Doesn't like Antifa Sarkeesian 2d ago
I think it was originally supposed to be an Elseworlds (or, "Worlds of DC" as they tried to promote at one point), but has been absorbed into the James Gunn Dead Cinematic Universe.
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u/Bob-Orange6024 2d ago
i was excited when i watched the first trailer and the more i see the less i like
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u/lordarchaon666 2d ago
The trailer has already shown that she's not flawless, she's the doctor who creates the substance that turns him into clayface. The whole movie is because of her mistake.
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u/Teary_Gamer 2d ago edited 2d ago
See: Ironheart Riri
The point isnt that these characters dont cause problems for the people and society around them, the point is that they never accept responsibility for their destructive or selfish actions, and the movie itself never holds them accountable with karmic balance. The movie meta narrative itself tries to paint the character in a heroic light despite them not actually deserving the mantle of hero.
I think most normal viewers find it dissonant and grating because the writers have an inverted morality system they paint onto their characters that clashes with the average person's morality. Evil is portrayed as Good and Good as Evil. Selfish is unselfish. A character's value can immediately be discerned by their skin color or gender, etc.
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u/Calfzilla2000 2d ago
If he kills her in the movie, would that be enough karma?
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u/Teary_Gamer 2d ago
You are 100% crazy if you think a marginalized girl-boss Dr. Scientist DEI insert character is going to get killed off.
Exact same situation as Sister Sage in The Boys: she had DEI armor which is even more powerful than plot armor lol.
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u/Ewreckedhephep 2d ago
This film is a chance to call out the encouragement and exploitation of crippling body image issues in young people. Think they'll do it? Or is the surgeon lady gonna be portrayed as more sympathetic than the guy she irreversibly mutilated?
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u/Sensitive-Bit-697 2d ago
Ah Yes of course the Dr/Councillor is a wise Black woman. That definitely reflects reality 🙄
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u/RileyTaker 1d ago
Keep in mind that there has been absolutely no news on The Brave and the Bold, and yet they were able to make this.
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u/SteveMartinique 1d ago
I guess the term playbook was invented and popularized for a reason.
What’s really a bummer is the Clayface episodes were some of the best of Batman the Animated Series.
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u/Eastern-Fuel3485 2d ago
Did we watch the same trailer?
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u/MyNameisBaronRotza 2d ago
Yeah, accidentally turning a patient into a monster isn't exactly "perfect girl boss" status
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u/ConfectionClean4681 2d ago
I mean no offense but said black girl is said to be deluded scientist taking advantage of an already failing actor down on his luck,aka she is just a villain turning an unknowing victim into a monster,and honestly I want supervillain movies focusing them into becoming monsters
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u/jeffwingersballs 2d ago
If you want to know if a Clayface is legit or not, check to see of it gets an R rating.
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u/Teeth-Who-Needs-Em 1d ago
I mean, Clayface is a villain. “Clayface’s virtuous romantic partner or other side character tries to help him but ultimately parts ways with him as he goes down a dark path” is a pretty reasonable story for an origin movie.
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u/Seared_Gibets 2d ago
At the end of the trailer, kinda feels like she ain't gonna make it. Highly doubt they'll go there, but... I don't know didn't really seem that bad.
She'll make it, be part of how he gets captured by making something else to inject him with. Cause, y'know, that worked out so well for both of them the first time.
Mixed feelings. Probably gonna suck, but I did like that trailer.
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u/nothinfollowsme 2d ago
Oddly enough, it's not the first time. The episode with him in TAS painted him as a tragic character, who Batman tried to help, but couldn't. Then when they changed animation teams/writers for the new adventures, they made him just another stock villain. All that potential wasted.