James Gunn on Why Clayface Movie Fits DCU, Not Reeves' Batman Saga

DCU co-chiefs James Gunn and Peter Safran have provided exciting updates on the upcoming movie "Clayface," confirming its place within the DCU and its R rating. Clayface, a well-known villain from Gotham City with the unique ability to shapeshift his clay-like body into any form, has been a formidable adversary of Batman since his debut as Basil Karlo in Detective Comics #40 back in 1940.

DC Studios recently announced that "Clayface" is slated for release on September 11, 2026. The decision to feature Clayface was influenced by the success of HBO's "The Penguin" series. The film will be penned by horror maestro Mike Flanagan, with production helmed by Lynn Harris and "The Batman" director Matt Reeves.

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During a DC Studios presentation attended by IGN, Gunn and Safran elaborated on why Clayface is integral to the DCU, distinguishing it from Matt Reeves' "The Batman Epic Crime Saga." Gunn stated, "Clayface is totally DCU. It was important that Clayface be part of the DCU. It's an origin story for a classic Batman villain that we want to have in our world." Safran added, "The only thing that's in Matt's world, his Crime Saga that he's telling, is the Batman Trilogy, the Penguin series, that's in that lane. So still under DC Studios, still under us. We have an incredible relationship with Matt, but those are the only things."

Gunn explained that Clayface wouldn't fit well in the more grounded setting of Reeves' saga, saying, "It was very outside of the grounded non-super metahuman characters in Matt's world."

Safran revealed that DC Studios is in negotiations with James Watkins, the director of "Speak No Evil," to helm "Clayface." Filming is scheduled to begin this summer. Safran enthused, "This summer, cameras are going to roll on Clayface, an incredible body horror film that reveals a compelling origin of a classic Batman villain, and this is another title that we added to the slate on the strength of an exceptional screenplay by Mike Flanagan."

He further noted that casting will commence once the director's deal is finalized, with the film set for a fall 2026 release. Safran emphasized the unique appeal of Clayface, stating, "Clayface might not be as widely known as The Penguin or The Joker, but we really feel that his story is equally resonant, compelling, and in many ways, more terrifying than one of those."

Throughout the presentation, Safran described "Clayface" as "experimental," not fitting the mold of a traditional superhero film, but rather an "indie style chiller." Gunn echoed this sentiment, calling it "pure f\*\*\*ing horror, like, totally real. Their version of that movie, it is so real and true and psychological and body horror and gross."

Gunn confirmed the film's R rating, adding, "I think that one of the things Peter and I talked about when we first got the script is if we were producing movies five years ago when we were doing Belko Experiment and all of that stuff, and somebody had brought us this horror script called Clayface about this guy, we would have died to have produced this movie, because it was just a really excellent body horror script, and the fact that it's in the DCU is just a plus."