James Gunn and Peter Safran, co-chiefs of DC Studios, have officially confirmed that the upcoming movie "Clayface" is set to be part of the DCU canon and will carry an R rating. This film focuses on the iconic Batman villain, Clayface, who possesses the unique ability to transform his clay-like body into any shape or form. Originally introduced as Basil Karlo in Detective Comics #40 back in 1940, Clayface has been a formidable adversary for Batman, and now, his story is set to unfold in a new cinematic light.
DC Studios announced that "Clayface" will hit theaters on September 11, 2026. The decision to greenlight this project was influenced by the success of HBO's "The Penguin" series. The film is being written by horror maestro Mike Flanagan, with Lynn Harris and "The Batman" director Matt Reeves set to produce.
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During a recent DC Studios presentation attended by IGN, Gunn and Safran elaborated on why Clayface fits into the broader DCU rather than Matt Reeves' more grounded "The Batman Epic Crime Saga." Gunn stated, "Clayface is totally DCU," emphasizing its place within their universe. Safran clarified that Reeves' saga, which includes the Batman Trilogy and "The Penguin" series, remains distinct but still under the umbrella of DC Studios.
"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," Gunn explained. He further noted that Clayface's narrative wouldn't align well with the more grounded approach 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 advanced talks with James Watkins, the director behind "Speak No Evil," to helm "Clayface." With filming set to commence this summer, Safran described the film as "an incredible body horror film that reveals a compelling origin of a classic Batman villain." He praised Flanagan's screenplay and highlighted the film's planned fall 2026 release.
Throughout the presentation, Safran described "Clayface" as "experimental" and an "indie style chiller," while Gunn emphasized its 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 also confirmed the film's R rating, reflecting its intense and mature content.
Reflecting on the project, Gunn shared his excitement, 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."
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