James Gunn and Peter Safran, the co-chiefs of DCU, have recently shed light on the highly anticipated *Clayface* movie, confirming its status as part of the DCU canon and its R rating. *Clayface*, a notorious figure in Gotham City, possesses the unique ability to morph his clay-like body into any form or person, making him one of Batman's most enduring adversaries. The character first debuted as Basil Karlo in Detective Comics #40 back in 1940.
DC Studios announced last month that *Clayface* will hit theaters on September 11, 2026. The decision to greenlight this project came on the heels of the success of HBO's *The Penguin* series. Horror maestro Mike Flanagan is set to pen the script, while Lynn Harris and *The Batman* director Matt Reeves will produce the film.
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During a DC Studios presentation covered 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 stated firmly. 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."
Safran emphasized the importance of integrating *Clayface* into the DCU, noting, "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 further explained that the character's fantastical nature made it unsuitable for Reeves' more grounded narrative. "It was very outside of the grounded non-super metahuman characters in Matt's world," Gunn remarked.
DC Studios is currently in talks with James Watkins, known for *Speak No Evil*, to direct *Clayface*. The project is gearing up for a summer shoot, with Safran describing it as "an incredible body horror film that reveals a compelling origin of a classic Batman villain." He praised Flanagan's screenplay, adding that *Clayface* might not be as well-known as The Penguin or The Joker but promises to be equally compelling and terrifying.
Throughout the presentation, Safran referred to *Clayface* as "experimental," highlighting its departure from traditional superhero films and labeling it 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 that it aligns with the kind of horror films he and Safran have been passionate about producing. "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," Gunn elaborated.
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