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

DCU co-chiefs James Gunn and Peter Safran have recently shed light on the upcoming Clayface movie, confirming its place within the DCU canon and its R rating.

Clayface, a character with roots deep in Gotham City's criminal underworld, possesses the unique ability to transform his clay-like body into any form or person. This iconic villain, first introduced as Basil Karlo in Detective Comics #40 (1940), has been a longstanding adversary of Batman.

DC Studios announced last month that Clayface is slated for release on September 11, 2026. The decision to bring this character to the big screen was influenced by the success of HBO's The Penguin series. Horror maestro Mike Flanagan is set to pen the screenplay, with Lynn Harris and The Batman director Matt Reeves on board as producers.

Confirmed DCU Projects

11 ImagesDuring a DC Studios presentation attended by IGN, Gunn and Safran elaborated on why Clayface fits into the DCU rather than Matt Reeves' The Batman Epic Crime Saga.

“Clayface is totally DCU,” Gunn affirmed. “The only elements in Matt's world, his Crime Saga, are the Batman Trilogy and the Penguin series. These are separate from the broader DCU but still under DC Studios and our oversight. We have a fantastic relationship with Matt, but those are the only projects in his lane,” Safran explained.

“It was crucial for Clayface to be part of the DCU. We're telling an origin story for a classic Batman villain that we want to integrate into our universe,” Gunn added.

Gunn also noted that Clayface wouldn't mesh well with the more grounded, non-super metahuman focus of Reeves' saga.

“It was very outside of the grounded non-super metahuman characters in Matt's world,” Gunn stated.

Safran revealed that DC Studios is currently negotiating with Speak No Evil director James Watkins to helm Clayface, with filming set to begin this summer.

“This summer, we'll start rolling cameras on Clayface, a gripping body horror film that delves into the origin of a classic Batman villain. This project was added to our slate due to the exceptional screenplay by Mike Flanagan,” Safran said.

“I think some of you might know that we're in talks with James Watkins to direct. Once the director deal is finalized, we'll begin casting and aim to shoot this summer. The film is scheduled for a fall 2026 release. While Clayface might not be as well-known as The Penguin or The Joker, we believe his story is just as compelling and, in many ways, more terrifying,” Safran added.

Throughout the DC Studios presentation, Safran described Clayface as “experimental,” not fitting the mold of a traditional superhero blockbuster, but rather an “indie style chiller.” Gunn emphasized the film's horror elements, 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 that Clayface will carry an R rating, underscoring its intense and mature themes.

“I think one of the things Peter and I discussed when we first received the script was how, if we were producing movies five years ago during the time of The Belko Experiment and similar projects, and someone had brought us this horror script called Clayface about this character, we would have been thrilled to produce it. It's an excellent body horror script, and the fact that it's part of the DCU is just an added bonus,” Gunn concluded.