James Gunn's Update on the DCU's R-Rated Batman Villain Movie Avoids 1 Big Mistake: A Fresh Take on a Classic Character
But here's where it gets controversial... The DCU (https://comicbook.com/tag/dcu/) has been making waves in the superhero realm by exploring new corners of comics that haven't been seen on the big screen, or ones that were done poorly the first time around. 2025's Superman revitalized the Man of Steel with a new tone but also gave the world a fresh Mister Terrific (https://comicbook.com/dc/news/superman-mister-terrific-actor-edi-gathegi-darwin-x-men-first-class-death/) and a different take on Green Lantern. Despite these deviations into new worlds and new characters, there are some staples of superheroes that haven't made their way to the DCU yet, but they won't be able to stay on the sidelines much longer.
Among them is the Dark Knight himself, Batman (https://comicbook.com/tag/batman/), and his many villains. Despite clear plans for Batman in the DCU, and Matt Reeves' The Batman Part II lingering in the wings, there's going to be a surprising character from the pages of Batman comic books that beats the next version to the big screen: the DC villain Clayface (https://comicbook.com/tag/clayface/). An entire film about the character is in production now and is set to arrive next year (https://comicbook.com/movies/news/dcu-clayface-movie-set-photos-gotham-city-map-easter-eggs-crime-alley/) as the third movie in the DCU overall.
Now, the latest update on the character from James Gunn should have fans excited. Over the weekend, DC Studios co-president James Gunn made a post (https://x.com/JamesGunn/status/1982449168695128438) online marking the anniversary of Clayface's debut in Detective Comics, writing: "Happy Anniversary to the perennially misunderstood villain, Clayface. Can't wait for you to see @TomRhysHarries bring him to life on the big screen!" Gunn's post is in line with many others that he has made as the head of DC Studios, but the language here is one that has a sly confirmation about Clayface's portrayal in the upcoming movie, one where he's not a pure monster, but a more tragic and complicated character.
It would have been easy for the film to make Clayface like Bane in Batman and Robin, but it sounds like it's going the route of Joker from the 2019 feature film. The upcoming Clayface movie will mark the first time that the villain will ever appear on the big screen, which makes his upcoming big screen debut even more surprising that it's happening in a solo movie and not a Batman movie. To make this peculiar new film even more bizarre, its origins are rooted in a filmmaker just shooting their shot publicly. The Haunting of Hill House creator Mike Flanagan got the ball rolling by revealing he pitched an idea for a Clayface movie, but (https://comicbook.com/dc/news/midnight-mass-creator-pitched-a-clayface-movie-but-dc-didnt-bite/) , at the time, Warner Bros. wasn't interested. Lucky for him, a regime change at the studio led to renewed interest, with Gunn and Peter Safran being interested in the project after Flanagan's pitch and initial screenplay.
Flanagan has long been adamant that his take on the character was inspired by the way he was portrayed in Batman: The Animated Series (https://comicbook.com/movies/news/dc-clayface-movie-updates-influences-batman-animated-series-mike-flanagan/), specifically the two-part story "Feat of Clay," which focused on the tragedy of the Matt Hagen version of the character. Tom Rhys Harries will take on the role for the upcoming movie, which Gunn has described as a "horror movie." So even knowing that the film will look at Clayface through a different kind of lens, we can fully expect his transformation to take on a grisly tone, and it's definitely going to be rated R (https://comicbook.com/movies/news/clayface-movie-story-details-rated-r-james-gunn-comments/).
And this is the part most people miss... The upcoming Clayface movie will be a fresh take on a classic character, and it's exciting to see how James Gunn and Mike Flanagan will bring him to life on the big screen. Will it be a horror movie with a grisly tone, or a more tragic and complicated character? Only time will tell. So, what do you think? Are you excited to see Clayface on the big screen? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
