Does Batman appear in ‘Clayface’? Gotham setting and DCU connections explained
This story contains spoilers for 'Clayface.'
Gotham has a new face in the DC Universe, and it belongs to a movie star having a very bad homecoming. Released in theaters on October 23, ‘Clayface’ brings body horror into James Gunn and Peter Safran’s shared universe. James Watkins directs, with Tom Rhys Harries playing actor Matt Hagen. The Batman villain’s origin story also opens the doors to the DCU’s live-action Gotham.
After a gangster disfigures him, Hagen turns to Dr. Caitlyn Corr, played by Naomi Ackie, for an experimental treatment. Her nanocell technology restores his appearance but gives his body the ability to change shape. What begins as a chance to reclaim his career becomes a means of taking revenge. With Hagen moving through Gotham and assuming other people’s identities, the setting naturally raises questions about its resident vigilante.
Batman does not appear in ‘Clayface,’ and the film does not mention him by name. That does not mean he is missing from this version of Gotham. Speaking to Collider, Safran explained, "We haven't really talked about what he's doing during the actual events of Clayface." He added, "But Batman is there." His activities during Hagen’s transformation remain unspecified, so the movie’s silence does not mean that it takes place before Batman exists.
Watkins approached the film as Hagen’s story rather than an opportunity to introduce another hero. Speaking to GamesRadar+, he explained, "It's a city of a very many million people, and this is Matt Hagen's story. I didn't want to get too cute. I just wanted to be honest to the story." His comparison was to ‘Joker,’ another film following one person in Gotham. That comparison concerns the storytelling approach, rather than a connection between the movies’ continuities.
‘Clayface’ belongs to the DCU, separate from Robert Pattinson’s Batman and Matt Reeves’s ‘The Batman’ continuity. The latter sits under DC Studios’ Elseworlds banner, alongside ‘The Penguin.’ Gotham’s name alone therefore does not connect Hagen to Pattinson’s version of Bruce Wayne. The movie includes a Wayne Community Center scene, but that connection to the setting does not bring Batman into Hagen’s story.
Although released after earlier DCU projects, 'Clayface' takes place before 'Creature Commandos' and 'Superman,’ which is set in 2025. Its design draws on German expressionist cinema and New York street photography from the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, mixing architectural styles, shadows and neon.
One surprise appearance comes from outside the superhero roster. ‘Breaking Bad’ star Aaron Paul briefly plays Hagen’s father during a transformation in the nightclub sequence. Paul agreed to the small role after the filmmakers approached him. His face appears among the identities Hagen can assume. The cameo is part of Hagen’s changing appearance, rather than the arrival of another DC hero.
The ending keeps the focus on what Hagen has become. Corr activates the nanocells’ self-destruct mechanism, and he melts into the sewers, apparently dying. He survives, however, and the final sequence reveals that the version of Corr comforting him is a figure he has created from his own body. He ultimately returns to his monstrous Clayface form. There is no mid-credits or post-credits scene introducing Batman or setting up their next encounter.
