CLAYFACE Director Says James Gunn and Matt Reeves Gave Him Complete Creative Freedom Without Worrying About the DCU

Just because Clayface takes place in Gotham City doesn't mean it needs Batman showing up or a bunch of DCU connections. Director James Watkins says he was given the freedom to make the movie he wanted, without having to worry about how it fits into James Gunn's larger DC Universe.

Clayface is the third film in the DCU, but rather than trying to connect everything to the larger franchise, it tells a standalone story centered on its tragic villain. That approach was fully supported by Gunn and Matt Reeves, who is producing the film alongside DC Studios co-CEOs Gunn and Peter Safran.

Speaking with GamesRadar in London, Watkins explained that his conversations with Gunn and Reeves were surprisingly straightforward. He pitched his vision for the movie, and they encouraged him to run with it.

"I spoke with Matt, and he was incredibly supportive, as well as James Gunn, and I said, 'Look, this is where I want to go,' and they were like, 'Great, do it.' And there was no mandate to try and match or change or do anything.

“There was this notion that, 'This is what we're going to create for Clayface, and this feels right for this story.' I like the standalone nature of this story. I didn't have to worry about any concerns for a greater universe."

Rather than forcing connections to other projects, Watkins could concentrate on telling a story about one of Gotham's most fascinating villains.

Of course, Clayface still exists within the DCU, and eagle-eyed fans might spot a few familiar details scattered throughout the film. Watkins revealed that Gunn provided some fictional brands and products from the shared universe that the production could use when they made sense.

"There was little things, like if you had an advertisement hoarding, there was stuff that James had, like various burgers or products from their world, and we could cherry-pick some of the products that we thought [worked].

"In the newspaper, there's a burger on it at some point, so there's kind of little Easter eggs and things that we've cross-referenced from their fictional world. But there was no overarching, 'You must do this,' or 'You must do that.'"

So while there are some DCU Easter eggs hidden in the movie, they're simply background details rather than connections that drive the story.

Reeves' involvement is also interesting considering he's building his own separate Batman universe. Having him and Gunn support Watkins' approach suggests the priority was making the best possible Clayface movie instead of figuring out which other DC characters could appear.

The film stars Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen, and while this is very much the villain's own story, the actor has already weighed in on how his character would fare against Batman in a fight. He's confident Clayface would come out on top.

I like that DC Studios is willing to let a movie like Clayface stand on its own. Gotham has plenty of interesting characters who deserve stories beyond Batman, and a tragic horror-focused take on this particular villain sounds like a great opportunity to explore that side of the DC Universe.

Clayface hit theaters on October 23, 2026. The movie has been getting mixed reactions, but I still hope it’s something we’ll enjoy!