CLAYFACE Director Says Batman’s Shadow Looms Over Gotham in the DCU Movie

Gotham is getting grimy for Clayface, and director James Watkins sounds like he’s leaning hard into the kind of gritty, oppressive city atmosphere that makes you understand why a guy dressed like a bat might be necessary.

The upcoming DCU movie is set to explore the origin of Batman villain Matt Hagen, played by Tom Rhys Harries, but even though the Dark Knight hasn’t officially been cast in the DCU yet, Watkins says Batman’s presence is baked into the world of the film.

When you’re telling a story in Gotham, he wants you to believe that the Bat doesn’t need to be standing on a rooftop to be felt.

Speaking with SFX magazine, Watkins talked about the visual inspiration for Gotham in Clayface, and it sounds like the movie is pulling from some gritty, street-level photography that gives the city a dangerous personality of its own.

“We looked at a lot of 1980s and 1990s street photography. There was a documentary called Everybody Street, and I looked at a lot of the work of the photographers in it.

“It captures the bawdy glamor of New York, slightly edgy, slightly eccentric, slightly menacing, richly saturated colors.”

That’s a great way to approach Gotham. Watkins seems interested in a city that feels lived-in, messy, and unpredictable. The kind of place where every alley looks like it has a story, and probably not a happy one.

For a filmmaker stepping into one of DC’s most iconic locations, you might assume there would be a lot of studio pressure involved.

According to Watkins, that wasn’t the case. He said he was “not micro-managed at all” and had “real support” from James Gunn and DC Studios.

That creative room seems to have allowed Watkins to shape Gotham into something foul, heavy, and uncomfortable, which feels right for a Clayface story.

“We want the world [of Gotham] to be corrupt. 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.”

Clayface isn’t just another comic book movie with a villain origin slapped on it. With its Gotham setting and body-horror potential, this could be one of the stranger and more unique projects in DCU Chapter One.

Of course, the big question for fans is how much Batman will factor into the movie. The character has already been namechecked in Creature Commandos and Lanterns, but DC Studios hasn’t revealed who will play him in the new DCU.

While Batman won’t be appearing in Clayface, Watkins wants fans to know that Gotham comes with a certain unavoidable presence.

“You’re in a city called Gotham. So I guess you feel the shadow of the Bat inherently,” Watkins said. “Because of the nature of where you are.”

While Batman doesn’t have to dominate the movie for the audience to feel his presence, fans obviously still want to see him.

His world, his enemies, and the city’s rot all feed into each other. Clayface can tell Matt Hagen’s story while still letting the shadow of Batman hang over everything like a storm cloud.

Clayface hits cinemas as part of DCU Chapter One on October 23.