- Clayface's director has revealed why Batman doesn't appear
- James Watkins has also addressed the lack of a post-credits scene
- The new DC Universe movie is out now in theaters worldwide
Full spoilers follow for Clayface.
Clayface director James Watkins has explained why Batman doesn't appear — despite confirmation that the Caped Crusader is already active in Gotham City when the film takes place.
Prior to the movie's late October release, DC Studios co-head Peter Safran confirmed to Collider that the Dark Knight is already fighting crime during the events of Clayface. Despite this, the new DC Universe (DCU) film doesn't feature a cameo from Bruce Wayne's alter ego.
On the surface, the decision not to include Batman makes sense, because nobody has been cast as the DCU's iteration of the iconic DC superhero yet. Myriad actors have been linked with the role, but Safran and his studio co-chief James Gunn have repeatedly denied that someone has been picked to play him.
Even so, a precedent has already been set for Batman appearing in the DCU.
Indeed, the World's Greatest Detective showed up — albeit in silhouetted form — in season 1 episode 7 of Creature Commandos, i.e. the adult animated show that kickstarted the DCU when it premiered on HBO Max in late 2024. So, why is the crime-fighting vigilante conspicuous by his absence in a movie that tells the origin story of one of his most formidable foes?
"If you look at [the 2019 Joaquin Phoenix-starring movie] Joker, it's one man's story in the world of Gotham, which is a city of many million people," Watkins told me as part of an exclusive chat ahead of the DCU Chapter One flick's launch. "So, for me, it was just trying to tell another man's story, Matt Hagen's story, to the best of my ability.
"I didn't want to be cute or cheap or tricksy," he added about Batman's no-show. "So, to try and crowbar something in, I felt was was inappropriate. There are references and Easter eggs, but I didn't want to include a stunt casting cameo."
That's not the only thing missing in Clayface, because the body horror movie also lacks an end credits scene of any description.
Again, initially, that's to be expected for a DCU film. Sure, Superman included a mid- and post-credits scene, but neither sequence offered a tease for what's to come in Gunn and Safran's fledgling cinematic universe. Meanwhile, Supergirl came and went without a single post-credits stinger.
Gunn has gone on record to discuss his philosophy regarding end credits scenes and why it differs from Marvel's. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly last year, Gun said he doesn't want to use them "unless they really, really work", and he can fulfil the promise of what they tease to fans in future projects.
It seems, then, that Watkins had to follow that approach for Clayface — but there's another reason why he elected not to include a post-credits scene, and it's to do with its last frame that shows Matt Hagen's full transformation into the shape-shifting villain's final form.
"I think, where the film ends, it ends in a really tragic way," Watkins said. "I just wanted people to walk out of their screening with that shot still imprinted in their minds, rather than undercut the emotional tragedy of it with a tease for a future film."