New Batman Spinoff Movie Raises Major Questions About DCU Continuity

New reports indicate that DC Studios is developing a new movie centered on Batman villain Clayface. Not much is known about the upcoming film, other than it’s being written by Doctor Sleep writer/director and The Haunting Of Hill House creator Mike Flanagan (and may begin production in 2025). Flanagan has talked about his desire to do a Clayface movie several times over the years, even revealing that he had pitched this exact project to DC Studios in 2023. What makes this development so interesting is that Clayface is appearing in Creature Commandos, was teased in The Penguin Easter egg, appeared in the Harley Quinn cartoon which is starting its newest season, and appeared in Batman: Caped Crusader. This brings up major questions about how exactly the movie would fit into either the DCU or other DC continuities, what it could all mean, and if it will be too niche for fans.

The DC hype train was been running wild lately, with multiple projects getting updates or being released. Creature Commandos has debuted, giving fans their first look at the new DCU. Superman: Legacy arrives in 2025, with the highly anticipated film showing off what James Gunn’s vision for DC will be, and HBO’s Lanterns is ramping up towards production. It’s an exciting time to be a DC fan and this new Clayface movie plays into that.

Where Will the New Clayface Movie Fit in the DCU?

Right now, the superhero movie scene is in flux. Sony has announced that its Spider-Man expanded universe films are ending, and Joker: Folie a Duex was a massive flop. Even the MCU isn’t as popular as it was previously. Fans are still looking forward to The Batman Part II, something reinforced by the positive buzz of The Penguin. While this upcoming Clayface movie has a respected filmmaker like Flanagan onboard, the character isn’t exactly the most popular antagonist. This means a Clayface movie is extremely risky.

The DCU was always going to have play fast and loose with several characters. Gunn and Peter Safran were made the heads of the new DC Studios after the success of films like The Batman and Joker, and it was confirmed that those projects would continue to be in their own universes. The DCU wouldn’t use the versions of DC characters made in these films, and instead cast their own versions, which Gunn himself confirmed when he announced a The Brave and the Bold movie about the Batman family in the DCU continuity.

Related: James Gunn Teases How Superman’s “New” Film Tech Can Bring Creature Commandos’ GI Robot to Live-Action DCU

DC having so many different versions of its cinematic characters has been sees as a problem. One of the biggest strengths of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in comparison was its shared universe. While it’s more normal now to have multiple universes of comic adaptations under one studio umbrella, it can still get a little confusing, and this upcoming Clayface movie has a potential to be one of those instances. Clayface is appearing in multiple projects currently, so the question of where this new movie is in continuity is paramount.

Piggybacking off the current positivity towards the new DCU and making this Clayface the same as the one in Creature Commandos is a safe move, as is playing on The Penguin‘s Easter egg. Not as safe perhaps would be a standalone movie à la Joker, but that doesn’t mean that it’s a bad idea. Flanagan has a pretty great pedigree and if anyone could make a Clayface solo film work it would be him. Clayface is an idea built for body horror, and Flanagan could do an amazing job with the concept. Any of these directions could lead to success, but it still begs the question of how far DC Studios is going to go with making a multiverse worth of projects.

The Clayface Movie Could Be the First in a DCU Multiverse

Multiverses have had their ups and downs on the big screen, as revealed by films like Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness and Deadpool & Wolverine. The former was something of a disappointment with fans, while the latter was much better received in terms of using the multiverse. Marvel is again going all in on multiverses, with Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars almost certainly playing into the concept. DC Studios could eventually be going in the same direction – as DC did originate the concept of superhero multiverses in their comics – and this new Clayface film could be the catalyst for that.

There are multiple versions of Clayface in DC media right now. A great way to show that the DCU is going to do more multiversal media would be to use this new movie as a jumping off point. A Clayface movie can go in basically any direction – it could be based on the Creature Commando Clayface, the Harley Quinn one, a version of the character from The Batman universe, or a completely new version. However, any of these versions can be used to lay the groundwork for an official big screen DC multiverse.

The good news is that the DCU continuity doesn’t exist in any concrete form yet; it’s as malleable as Clayface and the character can be used to show the shape of things to come.