James Gunn and Peter Safran, the co-chiefs of DC Studios, have shed light on the highly anticipated movie "Clayface," confirming its status within the DC Universe (DCU) and its R rating. Clayface, a notorious figure in Gotham City known for his ability to transform his clay-like body into any form or person, is one of Batman's oldest adversaries. The character, Basil Karlo, first debuted 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 was influenced by the success of HBO's "The Penguin" series. The film will be penned by horror maestro Mike Flanagan, with Lynn Harris and "The Batman" director Matt Reeves set to produce.
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During a DC Studios presentation attended by IGN, Gunn and Safran explained the rationale behind integrating Clayface into the DCU, distinguishing it from Matt Reeves' "The Batman Epic Crime Saga." Gunn stated, "Clayface is totally DCU." 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, 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 further noted that Clayface wouldn't fit well within the more grounded narrative of Reeves' saga, stating, "It was very outside of the grounded non-super metahuman characters in Matt's world."
Safran revealed that DC Studios is currently negotiating with James Watkins, the director of "Speak No Evil," to helm "Clayface," with filming set to begin this summer. He described the film as "an incredible body horror film that reveals a compelling origin of a classic Batman villain," adding that it was added to the slate due to the strength of Flanagan's screenplay.
Safran also mentioned that casting will commence once the director deal is finalized, and the film is scheduled for a fall 2026 release. He highlighted that while Clayface may not be as well-known as The Penguin or The Joker, "we really feel that his story is equally resonant, compelling, and in many ways, more terrifying than one of those."
Throughout the presentation, Safran referred to "Clayface" as "experimental," noting it deviates from the traditional superhero blockbuster format, describing it as 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 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."
