James Gunn has been reshaping DC Studios alongside Peter Safran, bringing fresh direction to the franchise while revisiting ideas with potential. However, before the duo took charge in 2022, Matt Reeves was already exploring ways to expand the world he introduced in The Batman. Reeves has now revisited that earlier period, offering a glimpse into the plans that were taking shape before the studio’s leadership changed.

Some of those earlier plans were rooted in a part of Batman’s mythology that Hollywood has rarely explored through standalone horror. Reeves recently explained how one such idea developed before DC’s new leadership decided where it belonged in the franchise.

As Batman News reported, Matt Reeves discussed the project during an interview, tracing its origins to the creative possibilities opened up by The Batman. 

“The Batman was not a Batman origin story, but what it did—because it was his first appearance in the city—it was an entree into origin stories for the Rogues’ Gallery,” Reeves explained. 

“So, we started developing it,” Reeves recalled.

Rather than telling Bruce Wayne’s origin story, the 2022 film introduced audiences to his early days in Gotham, creating opportunities to explore the backgrounds of the villains surrounding him. Reeves wanted to use that foundation to develop smaller, genre-driven films centered on the Dark Knight’s rogues gallery.

Flanagan, known for horror projects such as The Haunting of Hill House and Doctor Sleep, approached Reeves with a particular enthusiasm for Clayface, especially the character’s portrayal in the animated series. Reeves recalled that the pair began developing a horror story that evolved into a tragic love story, describing its combination of influences as The Fly meeting a horror thriller. As Batman News reported, When Gunn and Safran took over DC Studios, the project was among the first ideas Reeves pitched to them. 

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The project’s move into the DCU also raises an interesting question: how much room will a shared superhero universe give a character whose greatest strength lies in the horror of his transformation? 

Clayface has undergone several transformations across DC Comics, but his most recognisable incarnation is actor Matt Hagen, whose ability to reshape his appearance makes identity central to his story. The character also became memorable through Batman: The Animated Series, which explored the anguish behind his monstrous transformation. That emotional dimension helps explain why Flanagan saw potential in the villain beyond another costumed adversary for Batman to defeat.

The upcoming film carries that idea into the DCU. Directed by James Watkins, Clayface stars Tom Rhys Harries as Hagen, whose promising acting career takes a devastating turn after a criminal attack leaves him disfigured. He seeks an experimental treatment that restores his appearance but begins affecting his grip on reality. According to the official film synopsis, Naomi Ackie, Max Minghella, David Dencik and Eddie Marsan also appear in the cast. 

Reeves’ account offers a useful glimpse into how DC Studios can absorb an existing creative vision without abandoning its original appeal. Clayface began as an exploration of Gotham’s villains but has since become an opportunity to push the new universe into body horror.

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What do you think about Reeves and Flanagan developing Clayface before James Gunn and Peter Safran took over DC Studios? Share your thoughts in the comments.