James Gunn Explains Why the Clayface Movie Had to Be a Part of the DCU and Not Matt Reeves' The Batman Epic Crime Saga

DCU co-chiefs James Gunn and Peter Safran 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 shape or form, is a long-standing adversary of Batman. The character debuted as Basil Karlo in Detective Comics #40 back in 1940.

DC Studios announced last month that *Clayface* is slated for release on September 11, 2026. The decision to feature Clayface comes on the heels of the successful HBO series *The Penguin*. Horror maestro Mike Flanagan has been tapped to write the screenplay, with Lynn Harris and *The Batman* director Matt Reeves set to produce.

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During a DC Studios presentation covered by IGN, Gunn and Safran elaborated on why *Clayface* was chosen for the DCU instead of Matt Reeves’ *The Batman Epic Crime Saga*. “Clayface is totally DCU,” Gunn stated emphatically. 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 further explained that *Clayface* was essential for the DCU, emphasizing, “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 the character wouldn’t fit well within the more grounded, non-super metahuman narrative 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*, and it seems the deal is nearly finalized. 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 announced.

Safran also mentioned that casting will start as soon as the director deal is complete, with the film set for a fall 2026 release. He noted, “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” and not a “traditional superhero tentpole movie,” 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 that *Clayface* is “definitely R rated,” and shared his enthusiasm for the project, saying, “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.”