CLAYFACE Will Be Very Different From SUPERMAN According To James Gunn - "We Don't Want People To Get Bored"

CLAYFACE Will Be Very Different From SUPERMAN According To James Gunn - "We Don't Want People To Get Bored"

While Superman is tracking well at the box office, James Gunn says future DCU films will each have their own tone and style, offering audiences a unique experience with every release.

By MarkJulian - Jul 17, 2025 09:07 PM EST
Filed Under: Clayface

We have more coverage from James Gunn's chat with CBS Mornings, and this time, the DC studio chief is discussing Clayface, the upcoming DCU feature film from director James Watkins (See No Evil).

James Gunn has emphasized that the DC Universe will aim to offer a wide variety of storytelling styles, ensuring each film feels unique.

He clarified that while the newly released Superman sets the tone for that character’s world, it shouldn’t be seen as a template for every DC Studios project. Each entry in the DCU is expected to stand on its own, bringing something fresh and distinct.

"We've got Clayface, which is a totally different thing. Although it's in the same universe, it's a complete horror film. That's one of the things we want to do- there's no company style. It's not like every movie is going to be like Superman. The artists- the directors and the writers, each one will bring their own sense to it...that's what we want to bring to the films because we don't want people to get bored."

Tom Rhys Harries is set to portray Matt Hagen in the pic, which will take its cues from a script penned by Mike Flanagan (Doctor Sleep, Midnight Mass) and Hossein Amini (47 Ronin, Obi-Wan Kenobi).

Clayface is currently slated to hit North American theaters on September 11, 2026. 

With the release date just over a year away, more casting announcements are expected soon, as filming will need to begin in the near future in order for the production to stay on track.
On how the project came to be, which was not one of the films announced in the initial Gods and Monsters: Chapter 1 rollout, Gunn previously explained, "Mike Flanagan is somebody who I've been friendly with for a long time, and he wrote me about Clayface. He texted me about it really early on in my DC journey."

"Just being honest, I did not think that was something that was going to happen, but he came in and he pitched the idea and I was like, "Oh s---! That's cool." It's a body horror movie. It's a horror movie that, like any cool body horror movie, just happens to be in the DCU. And then he wrote the script, and the script was fantastic. We did not plan to do Clayface," Gunn revealed.

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NonPlayerC
NonPlayerC - 7/17/2025, 9:44 PM
As long as they actually go through with this I like this. Contrast is always good
NonPlayerC
NonPlayerC - 7/17/2025, 9:49 PM
@NonPlayerC - only thing I don't like is that this has to be a prequel, not even sure if claycface is still alive in the present DCU
Laridian
Laridian - 7/17/2025, 11:17 PM
@NonPlayerC - Not a prequel because Clayface isn't dead. He exploded. He got better.
NonPlayerC
NonPlayerC - 7/18/2025, 12:00 AM
@Laridian - well he may still be alive but the synopsis for the movie said its a body transformation horror, he's an actor that gets disfigured so it sounds like an origin story
Laridian
Laridian - 7/18/2025, 12:24 AM
@NonPlayerC - That might be part of it, but that would be flashbacks. Gunn said it's not a prequel.
ImNotaBot
ImNotaBot - 7/18/2025, 7:07 AM
@NonPlayerC - There are multiple people that hold the Clayface mantle in the comics, Basil Karlo and Matthew Hagen are two of them.
MisterBones
MisterBones - 7/17/2025, 9:49 PM
He’s spittin
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 7/17/2025, 9:58 PM
Sounds good!!.

Something like the MCU does allow the filmmakers to bring their own style & sensibilities to their projects but doesn’t do much distinct visually in order to create the illusion of cohesiveness in their universe while I think it would be cool that the DCU does the same in regards to their storytellers but does differentiate itself visually from project to project like the comics can do.

Anyway , I’m intrigued by Clayface but Lanterns is my most anticipated DC project right now!!.
Forthas
Forthas - 7/17/2025, 10:06 PM
Didn't the DCEU get blasted for its reactionary changing tones from dark to dark comedy to slapstick?
LeonNova
LeonNova - 7/17/2025, 11:49 PM
@Forthas - That’s the problem, it was reactionary. They had no clear vision of what to do after BvS’s underperformance, so they just started throwing stuff at the wall and none of it stuck.
Urubrodi
Urubrodi - 7/18/2025, 3:20 AM
@LeonNova - But there is no vision here either lol Someone got him a script that (apparently) is good and he went for it. On what earth a Clayface movie would be ideal for the build up of a new universe? It wasn't on the plans until it was.
DS616
DS616 - 7/18/2025, 5:24 AM
@Forthas -

- The DCEU was factually never "slapstick"

- Gunn is talking about changing the tone to fit the specific *character*, not doing what the DCEU did which was go from an across the board grimdark tone to a far more balanced tone.
Forthas
Forthas - 7/18/2025, 9:49 AM
@JayTweIve - You would not call the Shazam films slapstick?

User Comment Image
DS616
DS616 - 7/18/2025, 10:24 AM
@Forthas - It's a Gen Z teenage boy doing a Gen Z trendy dance move. And it's character accurate.

So no, I wouldn't.
LeonNova
LeonNova - 7/18/2025, 7:02 PM
@Urubrodi - The best way to build up a new universe is to make good movies. So putting movies that he’s certain have fantastic scripts into production is better than rushing out a movie because he’s trying to cross out a checklist of important characters than need movies as fast as he can.
Urubrodi
Urubrodi - 7/19/2025, 3:35 AM
@LeonNova - Well first of all if based on your comment then it started in a bad way, cause damn this Superman movie is lame. You gotta get credibility with the public first. If you just keep releasing stuff that most people have no interest for it's not gonna work. If they make the best Supergirl movie of all time and no one goes to watch it then what's the point? You should make sure your brand is strong enough that even if someone has never heard about a character they will still give it a go because it's DC. Marvel used to be like that and they lost that brand credibility. Thunderbolts is a great example, great movie but very unknown IP and it failed in the box office. Before Endgame it would have probably made a profit. Now they need to build that trust back up and for that they need the big guns to deliver. F4, Spider-Man and Avengers have a very important task ahead of them. As for DC after the DCEU crashed and burned a lot of people are skeptical with them for good reason. Clayface's only saving grace is that it'll probably be low budget so they might not need much to make profit.
RealTurner
RealTurner - 7/17/2025, 10:07 PM
But you do want people in theaters? Right?
lazlodaytona
lazlodaytona - 7/17/2025, 10:20 PM
"Clayface will be very different than Superman."

😐

NOOOOO WAAAAAY 😱
Fares
Fares - 7/17/2025, 10:29 PM
I like the approach. Movies aren't good or bad in a vacuum. The context in which they're released dictates a lot about their success.

A good way of being good is being fresh, and a good way of being bad is being "been there, done that".

You can be a movie that does the same thing that a celebrated movie that came before did, but you'll never be as good because you came later.

The more you make similar movies, the more boring they get, they can even badly effect the rewatchability of the movies that came first.
MR
MR - 7/17/2025, 10:29 PM
He called Marvel boring.
Urubrodi
Urubrodi - 7/18/2025, 3:21 AM
@MR - Having just watched Superman, he can't call anyone boring. Thundertbolts >>>> Superman
BruceWayng
BruceWayng - 7/17/2025, 10:37 PM
I dig this approach and think it will work with CBM fans, but I don’t see many regular everyday movie goers looking at a movie like Clayface and seeing it simply bc it’s a horror movie. The CBM brand is so ingrained into pop culture that general audiences will never not see a DCU or MCU movie as anything other than a CBM.
jst5
jst5 - 7/18/2025, 12:16 AM
@BruceWayng -Yeah I'm surprised this isn't going to be HBO Max deal.It's suppose to have heavy The Fly vibes to it so I'm interested to see that...and I'll probably go see it just because I'm a DC fan and it's a rare DC horror film but I just can't see the general audience coming to see this movie.It will have no Batman nor any DC characters that audience will know.It's surprising WB allow this to go to the theater.
PatientXero
PatientXero - 7/17/2025, 11:03 PM
Well no shit…I figured it’d be the same formula and format. Color me surprised
ModHaterSLADE
ModHaterSLADE - 7/17/2025, 11:05 PM
It should be different, I don't want a Clayface story with the same heartfelt tone as Superman. Batman Villains should always be loaded with tragedy, it's often how he, in a weird way, relates to his Rogues.
TheVandalore
TheVandalore - 7/18/2025, 12:29 AM
I feel like this is kinda dumb. DC movies have always had wildly different tones that were directly influenced by the direction of the people making those films. What's different about James Gunn's universe having different tones too? Does James just know how to balance different tones better? Because I'm pretty sure Patty Jenkins and James Wan and Zack Snyder and Andrés Muschietti would all argue that they put best efforts into their respective projects... So I guess instead of Snyder's art style being the thumb print of DC, it's James Gunn humor now as the thumb print.
TheJok3r
TheJok3r - 7/18/2025, 3:03 AM
Take this with a grain of salt, but Jeff Sneider doesn't think that The Brave and the Bold is happening, and that Batman will instead be part of team up movies. This makes sense, as it wouldn't be good for business to have two Batman franchises competing with each other. This is how I think things will play out for Batman over the next half decade:

2027: Batman II
2028: World's Finest
2030: Batman III
2031: Justice League
2032/2033: DCU Batman
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 7/18/2025, 4:00 AM
I love this. I'm freaking out about Superman's international box office. It's looking very bad rn. But I'm loving everything I'm hearing, I just don't know how secure the future is for DC.

This is a refreshing way of handling the universe. It also speaks to how Matt Reeves Batman could exist in this canon.
BillyBatson1000
BillyBatson1000 - 7/18/2025, 10:17 AM
Dark, stand-alone Bat villain' - individual film.

And if it's a success, (WE KNOW NOW) just to skip the musical sequel.
BlackStar25
BlackStar25 - 7/18/2025, 2:05 PM
In case some of you are not aware....Gunn is not Feige which means a lot of things frankly. There won't be an overall "tone" to DCU. Tonally it will be whatever is written for a project. There will be no mandates so just about every movie from the DCU will have its own feel.

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