A new photo from the set of the Clayface movie may have revealed the upcoming super-powered horror film's historic DCU timeline placement. The new movie from Doctor Sleep writer Mike Flanagan and Speak No Evil director James Thomas Watkins will technically be the first DC Studios film to introduce fans to James Gunn's new take on the Batman mythos, setting itself in Gotham City and featuring an iconic Batman villain as the central drive of its story.
Because of the film's close connections to the Dark Knight, various nuggets have been associated with the character showing up on the set of the R-rated DCU epic. Some of these Easter eggs have included mention of The Joker, a tease at the movie's tragic twist, and (most recently) a reference that could place the movie on the DCU timeline.
Eagle-eyed fans have spotted a poster for the Flying Graysons on the Clayface set in Liverpool, England (via DCU Prime TV on X), potentially revealing that the 2026 DCU movie's historic timeline placement.
At present, Peacemaker Season 1 is the earliest project on the DCU timeline to date, coming several months before the events of James Gunn's Superman. However, this in-universe piece of promotional art seems to confirm that Clayface takes place even before that.
Much has been made that the DCU Batman (which fans saw in a shadowy cameo in Creature Commandos) is well into his career as the Caped Crusader, so much so that he is already on his fifth Robin, Damian Wayne.
For the Flying Graysons to exist during Clayface, it would need to take place years before the Dark Knight took on his first Robin, Dick Grayson.
In the comics, the tragic death of Dick's parents, John and Mary Grayson (aka the Flying Graysons), puts Dick into the care of Bruce Wayne/Batman, paving the way for him to become the very first iteration of the Boy Wonder.
If the Flying Graysons are still active while Clayface takes place, then the movie must either be the earliest film on the DCU timeline to date, or James Gunn's interconnected DC universe is about to mix up the Batman canon unlike ever before.
There is always the chance this is an old poster, still up in Gotham's Amusement Mile district, but given the age/styling of the posters surrounding it, it is extremely likely the movie takes place before anything else yet seen in the new super-powered franchise.
Clayface has been described as an R-rated body horror take on the new DC universe. It tells the story of a fledgling actor who, after being beaten to a pulp and disfigured by a local criminal, approaches a scientist for an experimental procedure that would turn his body into clay.
The movie stars Tom Rhys Harries as the titular DC Comics villain, with Naomi Ackie, Max Minghella, and Eddie Marsan.
The DCU's Batman Canon Takes Shape
Despite the DCU's Batman movie (The Brave and the Bold) still seemingly being years away, the franchise's take on the Dark Knight canon has continued to take shape.
Projects like Clayface are laying the groundwork for the Caped Crusader, so that when The Brave and the Bold is finally ready, fans know exactly the Batman they are being introduced to, where he stands in his superhero-ing career, and what has happened to him/the people around him that led the hero to this point.
The mention of the Flying Grayson is just one example of this super-powered table setting that James Gunn seems to be allowing for the inevitable debut of the DCU Batman.
Perhaps, instead of the death of the Flying Graysons taking place in a Batman movie proper, the critical comic book event can happen in a film like Clayface, showing the crucially important Batman story beat while still allowing the character to look and feel the way he will when Brave and the Bold eventually hits theaters.
As Gunn has said, he sees the DCU more like Star Wars than Marvel, meaning each movie will pop in and out of the timeline at will, and its story will not play out linearly.
Clayface tackling some of the earlier years of Gotham City/Batman in the DCU could be an interesting example of this narrative strategy, setting the stage years before the Dark Knight gets his own movie in the franchise.
