James Watkins has a clear answer for anyone wondering where Batman is in the new DCU movie Clayface. The director says the Dark Knight does not need to appear on screen for his presence to be felt. “You’re in a city called Gotham. So I guess you feel the shadow of the Bat inherently. Because of the nature of where you are,” Watkins told SFX Magazine. The R-rated body horror film arrives in theaters on October 23, 2026, and it puts the focus squarely on one of Batman’s most tragic enemies rather than the Caped Crusader himself.
Why Batman Does Not Appear in Clayface
Watkins explained that the decision to keep Batman out of the film was about staying true to the story being told. “The story is Clayface’s story, it’s Matt Hagen’s story. If you just took one person within the world of Gotham and followed their story, it’s about following the integrity of that,” the director told Entertainment Weekly. He added that the team did not want to force a crossover moment just for the sake of it, saying his job was to make sure the film was “honest to itself” rather than trying to “be cute”.
Naomi Ackie, who plays Dr. Caitlyn Corr in the film, shared a lighter take on the situation. She joked that the cast considered asking Robert Pattinson to make a quick appearance. “We were joking that we could go and get Rob to do a little cameo for us. But he was busy being Batman, saving another Gotham,” Ackie said. She imagined it would have been a brief moment, saying, “Through a window, you see Rob in his full gear. That’s what we were thinking”.
Building a Gotham That Feels Alive Without the Bat
The film’s visual approach to Gotham City was shaped by a desire to make the city feel like a real, lived-in place. Watkins said the filmmakers drew inspiration from 1980s and 1990s street photography, including the documentary Everybody Street. “It captures the bawdy glamor of New York, slightly edgy, slightly eccentric, slightly menacing, richly saturated colors,” he explained. The goal was to create a world that felt corrupt and decaying, where “litter doesn’t get picked up” and “the canyons of these places are overbearing”.
This grounded approach extends to how the film treats Gotham’s larger mythology. Clayface is the first movie set in Gotham City since James Gunn and Peter Safran took over DC Studios. The city has been referenced in other DCU projects like Superman, Peacemaker, and Lanterns, but this film marks the first extended look at the new franchise’s version of the iconic location.
The Story Behind Matt Hagen’s Transformation
Clayface tells the origin story of Matt Hagen, played by Tom Rhys Harries. Hagen is a rising Hollywood actor whose life is derailed when a local crime boss brutally disfigures his face. Desperate to restore his appearance and save his career, Hagen agrees to become the first test subject for an experimental serum developed by Dr. Caitlyn Corr. The treatment initially works, but it soon causes his body to break down in disturbing ways, setting him on a path toward becoming the shapeshifting monster known as Clayface.
The official synopsis describes the film as a story that “unravels one man’s horrifying descent from rising Hollywood star to revenge-filled monster in a story that explores the loss of one’s identity and humanity, corrosive love, and the dark underbelly of scientific ambition”. Harries has teased that the film’s final monster form is something fans will not see until release. “It’s f—ing sick!” he told Empire. He also confirmed that the movie does not hold back on the body horror elements. “When we were at San Diego Comic-Con, people were like, ‘I hope you don’t go soft.’ And I’m like, ‘Trust me, we don’t go soft,’” Harries said.
A Different Kind of Superhero Movie
Clayface is rated R and is being positioned as a standalone psychological horror story within the DC Universe rather than a traditional superhero spectacle. The film has a reported production budget of around $40 million, which is small by superhero standards. Early test screenings have reportedly drawn comparisons to films like Joker, Vanilla Sky, and The Substance, with viewers describing it as a dark character study.
Director James Watkins brought a strong horror background to the project. His previous work includes Eden Lake, The Woman in Black, and Speak No Evil. He has cited Sam Raimi as a major influence on the film’s approach to horror. “The way that Sam Raimi can push horror almost to ridiculousness, and humor. I mean ridiculousness in a good way,” Watkins said. “There are a couple of Sam Raimi sequences, as it were”.
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Release Details and Box Office Tracking
Clayface will be released only in theaters and IMAX in North America on October 23, 2026. International audiences will get the film starting October 21, 2026. The movie is the third theatrical release in the DCU’s Chapter One: Gods and Monsters slate, following Superman and Supergirl.
Early box office projections from Box Office Pro estimate an opening weekend between $23 million and $33 million domestically. The film carries a reported $40 million production budget, meaning its break-even point is estimated around $80 million to $100 million worldwide. Advance tickets went on sale on October 7, 2026.
James Gunn Defends the Project Against Criticism
DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn responded directly to fans who questioned why a Clayface movie was being made. A user on Threads asked, “Who tf asked for a Clayface movie?” Gunn fired back with a list of iconic films, writing, “Who tf asked for Back to the Future? Casablanca? There’s Something About Mary? Pan’s Labyrinth? Fury Road? Weapons? The Matrix?”. He continued, “Although it may seem like it, Hollywood isn’t a place where the only way to make a movie is the public voting on what IP they want to see that they’ve seen countless times before”. Gunn added that the film came from a place of genuine inspiration, saying the team “crafted what I believe is a very special story around that character”.
Stay tuned to VvipTimes for more updates on the DCU’s upcoming movies and shows.
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