James Gunn Reveals How Clayface Fits Into The DCU's Future

Published Oct 24, 2026, 5:17 PM EDT An avid comic book fan since she first read "Stan Lee's Soapbox," Allison Hambrick is your friendly neighborhood generalist writer. Journalism, editing, media production, copywriting—she does it all. From her very first blog post about Smallville as a primary schooler, Allison developed a passion for superheroes and the entertainment industry at large. Majoring in writing and film at SCAD, Allison put her skills to work writing, editing, podcasting, and more. Currently, she moonlights as an editor at the ASHRAE Journal by day and Screen Rant by night. Allison also previously worked for Warner Bros. Entertainment and for Disney. Through her writing, she hopes to inspire, to entertain, and to empower others to be the best versions of themselves, and her mission in life is to make Stan proud. In her free time, she enjoys reading, video game design, traveling, and spending time outside with her dogs, Loki and Elphaba. Allison is fluent in movie quotes, and her favorite film is Superman II. Sign in to your ScreenRant account The first DC Universe horror film, Clayface, hit theaters this weekend, garnering a mixed-to-positive critical reception. Following the Batman villain of the same name, the movie stars Tom Rhys Harries, Naomi Ackie, Max Minghella, and Eddie Marsan. Clayface is directed by James Watkins with a script by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini. As of writing, it holds a 75% critic score and 94% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Clayface occupies an interesting spot in the DCU canon, as a Batman spin-off releasing before the franchise's Dark Knight debuted. As such, some audience members questioned why DC Studios chose this release order. Over on Threads, user @lotuslandcomics pointed out that they are seeing a lot of comments questioning what the DCU is "building towards." However, they defended Gunn's approach, saying: "Gunn doesn't have to build towards anything if the individual pieces work on their own. But if they cross over at some point, presumably like in Man of Tomorrow, cool, that's awesome. I think the MCU reprogrammed people's expectations." Gunn responded to their post, stating that he "couldn't agree more." He elaborated that the "DCU is just an alternate universe; we can enter at any location or time and tell THAT story." "I dislike the idea that individual stories aren't meaningful unless they lead to something else," the Superman director continued. "People not understanding this is strange to me, because Star Wars has essentially been doing this for 50 years across movies, shows, games and books, admittedly without the tonal variety. Now, this doesn't mean there isn't connectivity." How Does Clayface Fit Into The DC Universe? Image via MovieStillsDB In the same thread, the DC Studios boss directly addressed how Clayface factors into the broader franchise. Per Gunn, the DCU opened with the Superman Saga, which features a lot of characters from other corners of the universe, "but that doesn't mean those other stories only exist to set up what's happening there." As such, Gunn encourages audiences to tune into DCU projects on their own merit. "I would love people to be seeing Clayface because it's a great, fun horror movie unto itself, not because of where else Clayface will show up three movies from now," he concluded. Though Gunn's statement is not an outright confirmation, it implies that there is a future for Clayface/Matt Hagen in the DCU. However, his words encourage moviegoers to focus less on the bigger picture and more on the story being told, an important sentiment in a genre marked by franchises and interconnected plotlines. Clayface is now showing in theaters. Clayface 7/10 Release Date October 23, 2026 Runtime 108 Minutes Cast Tom Rhys Harries Matt Hagen / Clayface Naomi Ackie Dr. Caitlin Bates Gotham actor Matt Hagen's rising star is destroyed when a local crime boss leaves him horribly disfigured. Desperate to regain his former life, Matt undergoes an experimental treatment that restores his appearance but transforms his body into malleable clay. Now able to reshape himself into other people, Hagen sets off on an increasingly violent campaign of revenge against the ones he holds responsible for his fate. First Film Man of Steel First TV Show Peacemaker Cast Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher, Jason Momoa, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Laurence Fishburne, Jeremy Irons, Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, Viola Davis, Jai Courtney, Jay Hernandez, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Cara Delevingne, Chris Pine, Robin Wright, Zachary Levi, Dwayne Johnson, Amber Heard, Patrick Wilson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Mark Strong, Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer, Djimon Hounsou, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett, Rosie Perez, Ella Jay Basco, Ali Wong, Ewan McGregor, Idris Elba, John Cena, Michael Keaton, George Clooney, Xolo Mariduena Character(s) Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash, Cyborg, Harley Quinn, The Joker, Shazam, Darkseid, Amanda Waller, Lex Luthor, Doomsday, Deadshot, Deathstroke, Black Canary, Black Adam Created by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson Movie(s) Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, Justice League, Aquaman, Shazam!, Birds of Prey, Wonder Woman 1984, Zack Snyder's Justice League, The Suicide Squad, Black Adam, Shazam! The Fury of the Gods, The Flash, Blue Beetle, Superman, The Brave and the Bold The DC Universe is one of the biggest comic book franchises and often competes with Marvel. DC Comics started as National Allied Publications, founded by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson in 1935. Since then, the franchise has exploded with thousands of comic books, movies, TV shows, and video games. 2013 marked the beginning of the most recent iteration of the superheroes, with Zack Snyder introducing Henry Cavill as Superman. After several movies with mixed reviews, DC underwent a soft reboot under the helm of James Gunn and Peter Safran.