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DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran have officially confirmed the Clayface movie's place within the DCU, revealing it will carry an R rating for its bold horror approach.
As one of Batman's most shape-shifting villains, Clayface (originally Basil Karlo) first appeared in 1940's Detective Comics #40 with the power to morph his malleable form into any person or object. The upcoming film follows HBO's successful The Penguin series, with horror maestro Mike Flanagan writing and Matt Reeves producing.
Defining the DCU Boundaries
During a DC Studios presentation attended by IGN, Gunn and Safran clarified the distinction between their DCU projects and Matt Reeves' Elseworlds Batman saga:
"Clayface is completely DCU canon," Gunn stated. Safran added, "Matt Reeves' Batman trilogy and Penguin series exist in their own contained crime saga. While we maintain a great relationship, those remain separate from our core DC universe."
Gunn explained the character's exclusion from Reeves' universe: "Clayface's supernatural elements simply don't align with Matt's grounded crime saga approach."
Production Details Emerge
DC Studios has entered final negotiations with Speak No Evil director James Watkins to helm the project, with filming scheduled to begin this summer ahead of its September 2026 release.
"We'll have an exceptional body horror origin story shooting this summer," Safran revealed. "Mike Flanagan's brilliant script convinced us to greenlight this exploration of Batman's most terrifying villain."
Safran teased the film's unique approach: "While perhaps lesser known than Joker or Penguin, Clayface delivers an equally compelling - and arguably more horrifying - character study through an indie horror lens."
Gunn offered a passionate endorsement: "This is uncompromising psychological horror with gruesome body transformation elements. If we'd received this script five years ago for an original horror film, we'd have jumped at the opportunity - the DC connection elevates an already phenomenal story."
Confirming previous speculation, Gunn added: "There was never any question - this will absolutely be R-rated."
