DC Studios will return to Gotham later this year in a major new DCU movie. One of the DCU's earliest online debates discussed whether Matt Reeves' Crime Saga and Robert Pattinson's Dark Knight should remain standalone or be merged into a larger continuity. As fans have been told by DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn from the beginning (but largely ignored), The Batman franchise will remain separate, and the DCU will debut its own Dark Knight in The Brave and the Bold, which is expected to land sometime after The Batman: Part 2.
But long before either of those projects, DC Studios has its next big-screen Gotham movie set to be released on October 23: Clayface, a body horror written by Mike Flanagan and directed by James Watkins. It stars Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen, an actor who becomes the titular shape-shifting Batman villain.
Early set photos painted a picture of what the DCU's Gotham will look like, drawing upon the backdrop of the city of Liverpool, U.K., which was also a key production location for The Batman and likely its sequel that is shooting this year.
Fans already caught their first glimpse at the DCU's Gotham in Creature Commandos in flashbacks to Doctor Phosphorus' terrifying origins, his rise in the city's criminal underworld, and his eventual defeat by a shadowed Batman.
The new Gotham threw aside previous attempts to mimic real-world cities, such as New York and Chicago, in favor of a highly stylized, dark gothic atmosphere that somewhat mimics Batman: The Animated Series.
By contrast, one glance at The Batman's Gotham makes it clear that late-20th-century New York City was a major inspiration for its aesthetic. The Penguin's production designer, Kalina Ivanov, confirmed to MovieWeb that Reeves "really wanted" the crew to take inspiration from The French Connection, which stars Gene Hackman in early 1960s New York.
Clayface may not take place in Reeves' Gotham when it lands on October 23, but he did have some hand in its conception. The Batman director is on board as a producer for the DCU flick, but the actual extent of his role is unclear. His take on Gotham will next be seen when The Batman: Part 2 glides into theaters on October 1, 2027.
Everything Confirmed So Far About the DCU's Gotham
DC Studios hasn't revealed much about The Brave and the Bold yet, but recent reports revealed it will be "distinct enough in tone and look to stand apart" from Reeves' take on Gotham. That distinction was certainly felt in Creature Commandos, but only time will tell how it translates to live-action.
Clayface writer Mike Flanagan was asked at a panel hosted by ScreenRant whether The Batman offered any inspiration to his DCU flick. But he shut down those whims for a very good reason, noting, as he has before, that Clayface's origins are rooted in the "art" of Batman: The Animated Series:
"No, when we first started talking about Clayface, I hadn't seen what [Matt Reeves] was up to. So it went all the way back to 'Feat of Clay', that incredible two-parter with Ron Perlman voicing the character, which was so formative for me as a kid... For me, it all goes back to the animated series. 'Batman: The Animated Series' is art."
The DCU is officially home to 43 major Gotham locations already, according to a map spotted on Clayface's set last year, with everything from Wayne Manor to Ace Chemical on the table to be adapted in The Brave and the Bold and beyond.
During an appearance at 2024's New York Comic-Con to promote Creature Commandos (via Screen Brief), James Gunn confirmed the studio is "not imposing any overall aesthetic" on DCU projects. So, each production crew could be free to put its own spin on Gotham and other key DC locales:
"Every single project that comes out of DC Studios is going to be its own thing. We want 'Creature Commandos' to be very different from what 'Superman' is going to be when that comes out. We want 'Peacemaker' Season 2] to be different when that comes out… It's a connected universe, but we're not imposing any overall aesthetic."
That rule may be helpful in managing budgets for DC Studios, as it may be tough for Clayface, with its $40 million price tag, to craft as intricate cityscapes as an animated series or expensive blockbusters like The Brave and the Bold.
A major question for many, given Gotham's hellish nature, has always been why any sane person chooses to live there. Well, apparently, some DCU residents are asking that question already, as Peacemaker Season 2 confirmed that two key characters have already abandoned Gotham.
