DC Studios co-head James Gunn has repeatedly said Robert Pattinson’s Batman will not be part of the DC Universe, something that’s seemingly been proven by various Clayface set photos. The upcoming film looks to take place in a different version of Gotham City, but some fans remain hopeful that The Batman Epic Crime Saga will eventually be folded into the DCU. That circle of fans was bound to take notice of a new image featuring the Bat symbol from 2022’s The Batman on a dumpster spotted on the Clayface set. This has sparked another wave of speculation that Pattinson’s universe will crossover with the DCU, so Gunn is providing some clarity on the matter.
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On Threads, a fan asked Gunn about the Batman logo on the Clayface dumpster. “Although the trash can is from the set I have a hard time believing the bat was put there by the art department,” Gunn wrote in his response. “But if so it never came across my desk (I don’t have time to ok every piece of set dressing.)” Check out the image in question below:
Clayface‘s Batman Logo Easter Egg Explained
As Clayface makes its way through production, fans have spotted a number of intriguing references to the Batman mythos. There was a promotional poster for a Flying Graysons performance, a flyer raising awareness for the Joker’s march against police corruption, and a Gotham City transit map featuring several key locations. These Easter eggs, while being fun nods to the comics, also serve as a way of fleshing out the DCU’s version of Gotham City, using visual shorthand to establish key characters and events. With that in mind, it’s easy to see why some fans took the Bat symbol as a sign that Pattinson’s Batman is part of the Clayface universe.
Gunn is an extremely busy person with a lot of responsibilities at DC Studios, so it’s understandable that he doesn’t have time to approve every bit of set dressing for the various productions. Even so, he’d probably have to sign off on some props before they’re included. It’s hard to imagine the Clayface filmmakers reimagining the Joker as a political figure rallying Gotham’s citizens against corruption without getting the higher-ups to sign off. Gunn wants each DC Studios project to be able to stand on its own, but the DCU is still a shared universe, meaning there has to be some cohesion. When it comes to key characters like Joker or Robin, Gunn likely has say in what does and doesn’t make it to screen.
Batman certainly falls under the umbrella of “key characters,” but there’s a difference between a Bat symbol and something that strongly hints at a fresh take on the Joker. In The Dark Knight Rises, people drew chalk bats across Gotham as a way to inspire hope. The chalk bats looked different from the actual Batman symbol of Christian Bale’s Caped Crusader. Clayface could be following the same concept, with this bat simply being a piece of graffiti someone spray painted on the dumpster. Whoever left it wasn’t trying to make an exact replication of the DCU’s Bat symbol, they just wanted to leave a bat to pay homage to Gotham’s hero.
Since this set decoration didn’t come across Gunn’s desk, it’s plausible that someone on the Clayface crew thought it would be fun to include a Batman logo somewhere in the film and didn’t think much of it — coincidentally choosing one that matches Pattinson’s symbol. Gunn has been adamant that The Batman Epic Crime Saga is set in a separate continuity, candidly admitting Batman is a problem he needs to figure out for the DCU. For now, he’s firmly sticking to the Elseworlds concept, allowing Matt Reeves the creative freedom to tell his Batman story. Speculation about merging the two franchises will likely continue until the DCU’s Batman is cast, but all signs point to two different live-action Gothams.
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Image courtesy of Focus Features.
