The Only DC Universe Recap You Need Before Clayface

"Clayface" probably wasn't on anyone's DC Universe bingo card before it was announced. So what should you remember about the DCU and the character before diving in? Watch Looper's video above for the only recap you need.

This actually isn't Clayface's first DCU rodeo. He already appeared as a massive, antagonistic villain in the James Gunn-helmed animated series "Creature Commandos." Horror film and TV master Mike Flanagan first teased and debunked a full "Clayface" movie in 2023. While James Watkins ended up directing the project, Flanagan indeed co-wrote the screenplay with Hossein Amini. 

The first trailer for "Clayface" teased a body horror villain movie that features the Matt Hagen (Tom Rhys Harries) incarnation of the character. Style wise, the movie seems to exist in a strange, horror-tinted realm between Matt Reeves' "The Batman" and the DCU at large. It will be interesting to see how the film connects to the rest of the DCU and how much it will be allowed to be its own thing.

Clayface is one of Batman's most tragic villains. The Matt Hagen version of the character is an actor who turns into a gruesome, shape-shifting clay entity quite against his will after undergoing a risky procedure to heal the facial injuries caused by a gangster attack. Given Clayface's existing DCU connections from "Creature Commandos," it seems that the character's movie will definitely not be a part of the same continuity as the last major Batman villain project we saw, "The Penguin." After all, Colin Farrell's Oz "Penguin" Cobb also appeared in "The Batman," which exists as its own thing outside the DCU.

As such, expect "Clayface" to set the table for the DCU's version of Gotham City. Who knows, it might even introduce some elements that "It" director Andy Muschietti's upcoming Batman and Robin film "The Brave and the Bold" will expand upon. We will find out when the movie premieres on October 23. Before that, be sure to watch Looper's video above to get the full recap on the DC Universe ahead of "Clayface."