- Clayface's director has discussed its position on the DC Universe timeline
- Chronologically, it takes place before Creature Commandos and Superman
- However, the year it's set in is meant to be "deliberately unspecific"
Clayface's director has done little to clarify where it officially sits on the DC Universe (DCU) timeline.
In an exclusive chat with yours truly, James Watkins declined to confirm the exact year that the Batman villain's standalone live-action movie is set in. That's despite of the fact that we already know it takes place prior to every other DCU film and TV show released to date.
Indeed, responding to a fan on Threads in April, DC Studios co-chief James Gunn confirmed that, chronologically, Clayface precedes Creature Commandos season 1 and Superman.
Then, in July, Gunn's fellow co-head Peter Safran told Entertainment Weekly (EW) that the Clayface we see in Creature Commandos is the same version of the shape-shifter we'll see in Clayface. With the adult animated series believed to be set in late 2024, Clayface must take place prior to events depicted in Creature Commandos' debut outing.
Since then, season 1 of Lanterns, which recently came to an end on HBO Max, included a storyline that was set in 2016. Considering Gunn and Safran will have known that prior to giving their aforementioned answers, logic would dictate that Clayface takes place before 2016, too.
Armed with that knowledge, I pressed Watkins for a definitive answer on Clayface's exact position on the DCU timeline. Does its story occur in 2015? Five years before that? Heck, even a decade? Unfortunately, Watkins danced around my query, instead choosing to say that the year it's set in is supposed to be intentionally vague.
"[It's] deliberately unspecific," Watkins replied. "I mean, we're in a kind of a world which is... it's modern, but it also has a sort of analog feel and a retro-art school feel to the world. One of the things that really attracted me about the project was the standalone nature of it, so I didn't really have to worry about that [the DCU timeline], or look beyond the parameters of the world I was creating."
I guess that's that, then! Hopefully, Gunn and/or Safran can provide some clarity once the body horror comic book flick has launched worldwide. For now, if you're looking for more coverage on the latest DCU Chapter One project, my Clayface review should be your first port of call.
Clayface is out now in multiple international territories, and releases in US theaters on Friday, October 23.