Is Batman Confirmed to Appear In Clayface?

This is perhaps DC Studios’ biggest swing thus far: a standalone film version of Clayface, one of the most famous villains from Batman’s rogues gallery.

In the spirit of Venom, Clayface is centered around the character himself — namely Matt Hagen (Tom Rhys-Harries) — and his transformation into the clay-like, shapeshifting villain, although the film will focus less on his villainy and more on the psychology of the character.

But, a question lingers even with the first images and trailers being released — are we going to see the Caped Crusader in the film? Rumours abound that Bruce Wayne appears, given the film is set in Gotham City, but if so, in what form? Could Robert Pattinson appear in a cameo, or will it be the new DC Universe version of the character? We’ve done some digging to see if we can get an answer to those questions.

How The Clayface Movie Came To Be (Without Batman)

The idea of doing a standalone Clayface film actually starts with acclaimed writer/director Mike Flanagan, filmmaker behind Carrie, Midnight Mass, and the upcoming The Exorcist: Martyrs. In 2021, he pitched the idea to DC Studios as a huge fan of the character and “Feat of Clay”, a two-part episode from Batman: The Animated Series.

When James Gunn and Peter Safran were hired as the new studio heads, The Batman director Matt Reeves was meeting with filmmakers about spin-offs from his film, with Clayface being one of them — so starting the rumour mill on a Batman appearance.

By the time James Watkins was hired to direct the film, the studio had said that Clayface would be part of the DCU's Chapter One: Gods and Monsters, rather than the separate world in which Reeves’ film lives, known as Elseworlds. So any appearance from Pattinson’s version would not work, at least on paper.

Naomi Ackie, who co-stars in Clayface, told Entertainment Weekly in July this year that the team had pitched a Pattinson cameo, saying:

“We were joking that we could go and get Rob to do a little cameo for us. But he was busy being Batman, saving another Gotham. It’s like, through a window, you see Rob in his full gear. That’s what we were thinking.”

With the film taking inspiration from the animated series, it is natural that audiences would be expecting an appearance, at least in some small way, of the Bat. Could a Bat-signal be seen at the end of the film, similarly to the one seen at the end of The Penguin series? Or a silhouette on top of a tall building as Clayface completes his transformation?

DC's Multiverse Problem

The sticking point, of course, is the new DC continuity which has been purposely separated so that Gunn and Safran can work on their slate. Meanwhile, Reeves’ Batman, The Penguin television show, and others in the future will be part of their own unique universe — adjacent to each other but, most importantly, never crossing over.

This came up as the character of Clayface is already part of the main DC continuity in Creature Commandos, voiced by Alan Tudyk, and that the live-action version couldn’t crossover. Despite the convolutions, there is still the matter of Batman not being cast in the main DC continuity, and with Clayface being set in and around Gotham City.

Set photos and the trailers showcase GCPD buildings, Ace Chemicals, Amusement Mile, and the Narrows, as well as a brief musical motif that fans have identified as a reference to Clayface's theme from Batman: The Animated Series appearing in the final trailer. So, it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility that our new Dark Knight, at least as Bruce Wayne, could make an appearance. The who or what of it all remains to be seen.

Director Watkins told SFX (via Games Radar) recently that “You're in a city called Gotham. So I guess you feel the shadow of the Bat inherently… Because of the nature of where you are."

"We want the world [of Gotham] to be corrupt.” he added “We want it to be a city where litter doesn't get picked up, where there's a sense of decay, where there's dirt, where the canyons of these places are overbearing."

He also mentioned in the interview that the production looked at '80s and '90s street photography to help with the look. Could the film, then, similarly to Todd Phillips’ Joker, look and feel like Gotham City but be without its masked vigilante, despite the corruption? Well, Joker had a young Bruce Wayne in it so it meant no Batman, but could we perhaps see a version of Bruce who has just started his journey as Batman, or is coming back to Gotham to do so for the first time?

The Dark Knight Will Return

One thing's for sure: a new Batman is coming in the very near future.

Of course, with any film about the Caped Crusader, it all depends on who they cast in the role that would determine what age or type of version of the character they go for. If they were to cast someone like Alan Ritchson (Reacher), who is more akin to Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns in terms of stature and age, it would be an older, more world-wearing Bruce similar to Ben Affleck’s version a decade ago.

If they go for someone like Brandon Sklenar (The Housemaid), they could go for a Batman who has been in Gotham for a few years, given his age, and would be more conventional. Similarly, British actor Tom Brittney (Fall 2) has also been linked and who is of similar age to Skelnar, but who has had some more buzz about him than anyone in recent months. Indeed, he was a finalist for the role of Superman, which went to David Corenswet, and who James Gunn called a “great f---ing actor”.

What happens with the character remains to be seen, at least in a solo film, with the status of The Brave and the Bold still in flux, and rumours that it could start filming late in 2027. Andy Muschietti (The Flash) is still linked to direct it, but with the Warner Bros/Paramount merger now underway, the film has reportedly been paused for now.