One of DC Studios' 2026 movies could be setting up James Gunn's DCU to end superhero fatigue. After this year's Superman and Peacemaker, the DCU has an all-star slate for next year that includes Supergirl, Lanterns, and Clayface, a body horror movie starring the shape-shifting Batman villain that will strangely arrive before the DCU's Dark Knight. This unique greenlight comes at a time when the genre is facing struggles, thanks to superhero fatigue, with disappointing box office results felt at Marvel and DC compared to the $1 billion highs of previous years.
Mike Flanagan, a veteran of the horror genre, stated as far back as January 2021, long before the DCU, that he would be "really keen to do a standalone Clayface movie." Eventually, The Haunting of Hill House writer officially pitched the movie in early 2023 when Clayface was rumored to appear in The Batman: Part 2. It's unclear whether the movie was ever considered for Matt Reeves' Crime Saga, but it ultimately landed in the DCU upon its announcement in December 2024.
DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran confirmed at a press event (via IGN) that Clayface was "added to the slate on the strength of an exceptional screenplay by Mike Flanagan," which tells a "compelling origin" for the Batman villain.
Unfortunately, due to scheduling conflicts with The Exorcist reboot and other projects, Flanagan wasn't able to direct his Clayface script. Instead, another horror director who helmed Speak No Evil and The Woman in Black, as well as Black Mirror's fantastic "Shut Up and Dance," will helm the 2026 flick.
The movie is now in production in the U.K., conducting location shooting in Liverpool, where parts of The Batman were filmed. DC Studios finally found its Matt Hagen in Tom Rhys Harries after a lengthy casting search that saw four major actors miss out on Clayface, even including some big-name rising stars.
DC Studios is pushing forward with Clayface on a low budget of around $40 million (under 20% of Superman's supposed $225 million cost). As such, the DCU horror won't need to pull off anything extravagant at the box office to start turning a profit.
While the above details may appear to simply tell the backstory of Clayface's development, they paint a picture of why this strange Batman villain-centric body horror is exactly what James Gunn's DCU and the superhero genre need.
DC's Clayface Has All the Pieces to End Superhero Fatigue
Ultimately, a content excess from Marvel and DC is the driving factor in superhero fatigue, with many general audiences criticizing the repetitive storylines, tones, and styles in the genre. That said, recent years have also seen a "quantity over quality" approach that has led to more mediocre releases from both sides of the coin.
James Gunn looks intent on fixing that by avoiding a major MCU mistake with the DCU, as he confirmed that "nothing is greenlit before [they] have a finished script." This script-first approach appears especially strong in Clayface, as DC Studios pushes forward with a rather obscure movie solely off its script quality.
Beyond just that, Gunn also confirmed (via Variety) that Clayface is a "totally different thing" from other DCU projects, as there will be no "company style" at DC Studios. He was clear that those behind each project will "bring their own sense to it" to keep things fresh and prevent boredom.
Gunn is already taking the perfect steps to solidify that policy, bringing together a writer/director team of Mike Flanagan and James Watkins for Clayface. This duo has no experience in the superhero game, but has a strong track record with the horror genre, which is the focus of Clayface, just using the DC IP.
The choice to develop Clayface with a budget of just $40 million, one of the lowest ever in Marvel and DC, will help ensure the movie can turn a profit, but it may also push further creativity and result in a more unique final product.
Typically, horror movies have a much lower box office sealing than other genres, but big wins such as Five Nights at Freddy's and The Conjuring: Last Rites have still managed to haul $260 and $399 million (and counting), respectively. With a true horror set in a major superhero universe being somewhat uncharted territory ahead of Clayface, there is no telling where its box office will land.
Beyond these low-budget movies being far more risk-free for the DCU, it is also an interesting way to drive creativity and unique design choices. After all, with just $40 million, it will be tough to rely much on CGI to create Tom Rhys Harries' monstrous Batman villain, leading to a bigger emphasis on practical filmmaking.
In crafting the DCU, it's clear Gunn is taking things one project at a time, with the focus on getting each story right and not building toward some huge event. By maintaining quality, unique storytelling, and keeping budgets reasonable, the DCU and Clayface have all the right pieces to stop superhero fatigue at the source.
Hopefully, Clayface will not just be a critical but a financial success, and Hollywood will learn the right lessons from that. Those lessons should not involve an all-out focus on horror, but rather on putting creativity and uniqueness first, which already appears key to the DCU and is something the MCU could take notes from.
