James Gunn and Peter Safran, the co-chiefs of DCU, have officially confirmed that the upcoming movie "Clayface" will be part of the DCU canon and will carry an R rating. Clayface, known for his ability to transform his clay-like body into any form, is a long-standing adversary of Batman. The character, first introduced as Basil Karlo in Detective Comics #40 back in 1940, has been a staple in the Batman universe.
DC Studios announced last month that "Clayface" is slated for release on September 11, 2026. The decision to greenlight this project was influenced by the success of HBO's "The Penguin" series. Horror maestro Mike Flanagan is set to pen the screenplay, while Lynn Harris and "The Batman" director Matt Reeves will produce the film.
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During 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." Gunn stated, "Clayface is totally DCU. 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," Safran added. "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, saying, "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." He also noted that Clayface wouldn't fit well in the more grounded "The Batman Epic Crime Saga," as it falls outside the scope of non-super metahuman characters in Reeves' universe.
Safran revealed that DC Studios is currently negotiating with James Watkins, the director of "Speak No Evil," to helm "Clayface." The film is set to begin shooting 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 said.
He further elaborated on the film's unique approach, describing it as "experimental" and not a traditional superhero movie, but rather an "indie style chiller." Gunn echoed this sentiment, calling "Clayface" "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, stating, "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."
