Now we may know the timeline of the Clayface solo movie

A solo Clayface movie, set for 2026, was announced on December 14, 2024. However, one thing we didn't know was whether the film was part of the DCU or a stand-alone Elseworlds story, similar to Todd Phillips' Joker movies and Matt Reeves' The Batman franchise. Now, it seems that we may know the canonical standing of Clayface.

The solo movie featuring the iconic shape-shifting supervillain/anti-hero will be directed by James Watkins and is set to star Tom Rhys Harries as the titular character. These are the only details we have about the movie, and nothing more. Its place in the canon has been a point of debate ever since the movie was announced in December 2024.

However, James Gunn's recent comments in a podcast might have confirmed that the movie takes place in the DCU.

Explaining James Gunn's Clayface comments:

James Gunn sat down for an interview on June 20, 2025, with DC Studios Showcase: The Official Podcast. In that podcast, James Gunn discussed his plans with hosts Frankey Smith, Tyler Coates, and Coy Jandreau, and that included the solo movie headlined by the fan-favorite shape-shifting supervillain. It is here that the Superman filmmaker may have confirmed that it is set in the DCU.

He revealed that the James Watkins-directed movie was not initially a part of his DCU plans. James Gunn then went on to tease that the movie might be rated R, meaning that it might be suitable only for Adults. Gunn's exact words were:

"Clayface was not something that we intended. We didn't come into this job like with Woman of Tomorrow or Lanterns. Woman of Tomorrow and Lanterns are both things we talked about when we had our initial writers room. We knew those things were coming. Clayface was not on our checklist. But Mike came in with a pitch for Clayface that was like, 'Whoa, that is so cool.' And then he wrote the screenplay and fulfilled doubly on that promise. The thing about Clayface that's so cool is Peter and I were like, back when we were like producing [...] horror movies and The Belko Experiment, all these things. I'm like, if we had gotten the script as a horror movie, not being a part of the DCU at all, it's like this amazing body horror film that we would jump at the chance of making. So it really is about-- Like, it's just a great horror movie that is a great, smart, fun, fun horror movie in a genre that I happen to love, which is body horror. It’s rated R … it’s not anything now because the MPA has to watch it, but it’s most likely rated R. It’s pretty intense."

You may find a parallel between this movie and Todd Phillips' Joker movies. However, probably the filmmaker working on the DCU movie might not be given the same level of freedom that Todd Phillips was given, much to the detriment of Joker: Folie à Deux.

What will the DCU supervillain movie be about?

On June 17, 2025, Welsh actor Tom Rhys Harries was announced to play the titular character. We did meet one version of the character in the animated series Creature Commandos. It is uncertain if Tom Rhys Harries is playing the same version of Clayface in the first season of the animated DCU series.