DC Studios Reveals How 2026's Clayface Sets Up Batman's DCU Movie

Published Oct 16, 2026, 7:01 AM EDT

Andy Behbakht has worked as an entertainment journalist since 2010, covering all the latest in Hollywood on both the big and small screens, from staying on top of the biggest breaking news, analyzing movies and television shows in Hollywood, to in-depth interviews with actors and storytellers.

Andy's career includes having worked for publications such as FanSided, KSiteTV, TV Fanatic, It's Just Movies, Heroic Hollywood, TV Overmind, and more. Outside of his career as an established reporter, Andy is the host and producer of The Showrunner Whisperer, The Flash Podcast, the editor-in-chief of Multiverse of Color, and the network director of DC TV Podcasts.

The world is actively waiting to see what the DC Universe will do with its version of Batman.

As major iconic heroes like Superman, Supergirl, and various members of the Green Lantern Corps have made their debut in the DCU's Chapter 1: "Gods and Monsters" line-up, there are still many iconic characters who have yet to be formally cast in James Gunn's new superhero continuity. With the fall season underway, Hollywood is getting ready to see the next live-action take on Gotham City, but also one of the most dangerous foes in Batman's canon.

During an interview with IGN, DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran was asked how much audience members should take the Clayface film being in the DCU to heart, and whether or not this design of Gotham City will be what they use for their Batman once they get into The Brave and The Bold. Safran explained that "what we've always said is that there's a consistency to the look but the next filmmaker that tackles Gotham, they [can] use it as a starting point, they can all feel different. I think each filmmaker, just the way great comic book creators treat stories differently within the same worlds and with the same characters in the comic books, we want each film to have its own reflection of the vision of the filmmaker."

He stressed that "Gotham is a grittier, dirtier place, for example, than Coast City and I don't think, suddenly, Gotham's not going to become Paris, and so I think that that's always going to be consistent." Safran added how Clayface director James Watkins "did a really good job layering in the darker, grittier feel, but with also a slight glimpse like when you're inside his apartment before he gets turfed out of it. But you get a little bit of sense of what money can buy you in Gotham, there's an elegance to it as well, a Beaux-Arts brilliance to it that can exist but we all know that Gotham is a little dirty, is a little gritty, is a little dangerous."

The DCU's Clayface movie will explore Matt Hagen's origin story in how he becomes the famous shape-shifting super-villain. However, even if the Caped Crusader doesn't show up, Tom Rhys Harries recently teased the possibility of the R-rated horror feature addressing whether his titular character is aware of Batman at this point in the timeline.

The lead star hinted that “we have footage... and I don’t know how much I can say. But yes, we had discussions about that at length," but it's unclear if the Batman scene is actually in the theatrical cut. If it actually is in the final version, it also remains to be seen whether it is the Gotham City hero being shown through archival footage or images, similar to his cameo in Creature Commandos, rather than an actor being formally cast as the DCU's version of the hero.

Andy Muschietti's The Brave and The Bold has been in development since 2023, and the initial premise of the reboot that was revealed was to center the focus on Bruce Wayne and his relationship with his biological son, Damian Wayne. However, that may no longer be the case.

A user recently asked Gunn on Threads if the "plans for DCU Batman changed creatively in some way since the 2023 announcement of The Brave and the Bold," to which the DC Studios co-CEO shared with a simple "Yep." Time will tell, though, if any changes to their reboot for the beloved Gotham protector will be alluded to through Clayface, as audience members wait to get more details on The Brave and The Bold.

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  Tom Rhys Harries

  Matt Hagen / Clayface

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  Naomi Ackie

  Dr. Caitlin Bates

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  David Dencik

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  Max Minghella