James Gunn on Clayface Movie: DCU Inclusion Over Reeves' Batman Saga
James Gunn and Peter Safran, the co-chiefs of DCU, have recently shed light on the highly anticipated Clayface movie, confirming its place within the DCU and its R rating. Clayface, a classic villain known for his shape-shifting abilities, has been a staple in Batman's rogues' gallery since his debut as Basil Karlo in Detective Comics #40 back in 1940. The film is slated for release on September 11, 2026, a decision influenced by the success of HBO's The Penguin series. Horror maestro Mike Flanagan is penning the script, with Lynn Harris and The Batman's director Matt Reeves set to produce.
During a DC Studios presentation attended by IGN, Gunn and Safran elaborated on why Clayface is an integral part of the DCU, distinct from Reeves' more grounded The Batman Epic Crime Saga. "Clayface is totally DCU," Gunn affirmed. 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 emphasized the importance of including Clayface in the DCU, describing it as "an origin story for a classic Batman villain that we want to have in our world." He noted that Clayface wouldn't fit well in the more grounded narrative of Reeves' universe, stating, "It was very outside of the grounded non-super metahuman characters in Matt's world."
Safran revealed that DC Studios is currently in negotiations with James Watkins, known for directing Speak No Evil, to helm Clayface. Filming is scheduled to begin this summer. "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," Safran stated. He also highlighted the film's unique position within the DCU, describing it as "experimental" and an "indie style chiller," while Gunn labeled it as "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, expressing excitement about the project: "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."
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