The DCU’s next movie, Clayface, has premiered, and the supervillain body horror is already being called “shockingly gruesome” in early reactions. Good news for all the Clay-heads out there, then: James Gunn has revealed this won’t be the last we see of Matt Hagen in the DCU.
Speaking to Cinemex on the Clayface red carpet, Gunn confirmed that the gloopy, shapeshifting bad guy will return in a future DCU project. “I think one of the most fun things about creating the DCU is being able to tell stories that are very, very different from one another, in very different genres, and yet they all come together at certain points,” Gunn said. “And yeah, this isn’t the last we’ll see of Clayface. And I can’t wait for you guys to see what we do with him.”
Of course, we’ve seen Hagen before in the DCU: he appears in the first season of the animated series Creature Commandos (and, yes, James Gunn has previously confirmed that the characters are one and the same). It’s possible Gunn could simply be referring to the fact that Hagen will almost certainly pop up in Creature Commandos season 2, but given the character is best known for being part of Batman’s rogues’ gallery, Clayface appearing in The Brave and the Bold, or a future Batman-starring DCU movie feels like a distinct possibility.
The Batman buzz is certainly building around the DCU. In a separate interview, Clayface star Tom Rhys Harries may have let slip that Batman is in Gotham during the events of the DCU movie. Clayface director James Watkins has also said that Batman’s presence will be felt “inherently” in Clayface, telling SFX magazine: “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.”
Clayface releases in theaters October 23. For more, check out our guides to all the upcoming DC movies and shows and our breakdown of how to watch the DC movies in order.
