I Loved The Penguin, But I Think DC Is Repeating a Critical Sony/Marvel Mistake

Nearly two years ago, DC Studios unveiled a slate of films and television shows that will make up the DCU‘s first chapter, titled Gods and Monsters. Creature Commandos launched the DCU earlier this month and certainly fits the “monsters” part of chapter one’s title, while Superman will cover the “Gods” portion of it in the summer. There we also many other projects on the slate shown off by DC Studios CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran. Some like Lanterns and Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow have made their way to the greenlight stage of production while The Brave and the Bold and Swamp Thing remain in development. There have also been projects not part of that initial slate that have emerged with Sgt. Rock, Teen Titans, and Clayface.

Clayface will follow in the footsteps of the two Joker films and The Penguin HBO series as DC projects centered on a member of Batman’s Rogue’s Gallery. The Clayface film is officially happening and will take place in the DCU. The project comes from writer Mike Flanagan, and filming will take place early next year, with a release date of September 2026 already set. Clayface is yet another character that aligns with DC Studios’ direction for chapter one and the character has plenty of potential. Still, it’s easy to see the similarities with Sony’s Venom trilogy, Morbius and Kraven the Hunter. Since Clayface is coming out before The Brave and the Bold, I’m worried DC Studios could make the same mistake Sony made with its Spider-Man Universe, which is presumably over.

Clayface Is Not a Notable Batman Villain Like The Joker or The Penguin

When Marvel Studios made Guardians of the Galaxy, it was in its second phase, with several successful films already under its belt. Based on the current release schedule, Clayface will be the DCU’s sixth project, whereas Guardians of the Galaxy was the MCU’s ninth film.

Part of what makes Batman such a rich character has to do with the numerous complex villains he must go up against. In the film, it got to the point where the villains started to become the main stars of Batman films, with team-ups allowing more to appear and actors like Arnold Schwarzenegger earning top billing over George Clooney for Batman & Robin. Villains continue to be a major draw for superhero films, and no superhero franchise creates more intrigue around it than the ones starring Batman. In 2004, Warner Bros. released Catwoman, starring Halle Berry, which became a total failure critically and commercially. While Catwoman is one of the more notable Batman villains with a failed film, the studio would eventually find success with Joker 15 years later with a film that became a major win.

Despite its success, a sequel to Joker didn’t come close to matching the first film’s award-winning praise and billion-dollar gross, once again showing even Batman’s most popular villains are still vulnerable to failure. However, HBO’s The Penguin once again showed the potential of the success of a Batman villain spin-off can achieve. Many will point to The Penguin as a reason why Clayface can work on its own, but there’s a key difference between the two. Colin Farrell first playedPenguinin The Batman before his series. The Penguin is also more well-known to the general audience compared to Clayface, who has yet to make his live-action debut. Clayface may appear in Creature Commandos soon, but it won’t have the same effect because it’s on an animated series with fewer eyes on it, plus it’s not a Batman project. Gunn has had a lot of success with obscure comic book properties in the past, and Clayface is a bit more well-known than some of the other characters he’s successfully brought to the screen. Nonetheless, Sony still struggled to succeed with films based on Spider-Man villains like Morbius and Kraven the Hunter, and Clayface certainly falls in a similar tier, and his association with Batman isn’t one many audience members will be familiar with.

The Clayface Film Will Come Out Before Batman’s Debut In The Brave and the Bold

The Brave and the Bold will introduce Batman and the Damian Wayne version of Robin to the DCU. The Flash‘s Andy Muschietti is on board to direct, but the film remains in development with no release date.

Easily, the most disappointing aspect of Sony’s offshoot Spider-Man films is how little they had to do with the web-slinger. The Penguin worked because viewers knew which Batman he would go up against because he already shared scenes with him in the previous project. Unless Batman appears in Clayface, the DCU version will not debut until The Brave and the Bold. With Batman not showing up until after Clayface comes out, that puts the film in a very similar position as the Sony-Marvel films, especially since there’s also a separate ongoing Batman franchise with Robert Pattinson. Even the Joker movies clearly lost steam by the end since it became more apparent that it wasn’t the more traditional take people enjoy.

Without question, audiences would’ve been more invested in films about Kraven the Hunter, Madame Web, Morbius, and Venom if they were directly tied to Spider-Man. Instead, the films made vague references and never committed to having either a past Spider-Man actor turn up or a new one. Part of the draw with a Clayface film is that he is a foe of Batman in Gotham City. The Brave and the Bold‘s status doesn’t send a clear indication of his status in the DCU, and that will be an important thing to establish as the world builds. The Penguin was a success because it followed The Batman. All Clayface follows is Creature Commandos and his version in the upcoming film will likely differ from it, making it more in line with what Sony puts out with its Marvel films without Spider-Man. Ultimately, it just puts Clayface in an awkward position and takes away from a major appeal that audience members will care about.

This Is the Downside to DC Studios’ Approach to Development

In many ways, DC Studios operates similarly to Marvel Studios since they are both delivering the shared superhero universe product. However, Gunn has been upfront about the things that will make DC Studios differ from what other film studios do, and one of the main ones relates to development. While the MCU and other franchises have become notorious for shooting films before a completed script, the DCU and Elseworlds stories won’t receive a green light until scripts are good enough to move forward. With Clayface quickly moving ahead of other announced DCU projects, it’s encouraging that Flanagan’s script is up to par with Gunn’s standards. Additionally, Gunn’s approach speaks volumes that Lanterns and Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow will also have a good chance of becoming crowd-pleasing hits.

“We’re not quite there yet, in terms of
Booster Gold
. The scripts aren’t quite where I want them to be. From the beginning, I’ve made it clear that what we’re going to do at DC is that, no matter what, we’re going to wait until the screenplays are ready until we shoot them. We’re not going to shoot until I’m happy with the script.” — James Gunn on
DC Studios’ approach to development
.

Making sure scripts are good enough before filming issomething DC desperately needs since it will need to become a trusted brand like Marvel Studios, despite some recent projects not living up to it. A strong brand is critical for DC Studios to reach success and the focus on that early on is a good sign. Despite this, we are also seeing the downside to this with the Clayface film. DC Studios could hold off on Clayface and prioritize The Brave and the Bold to make sure the DCU establishes a Batman first. Instead, films and television shows are coming out based entirely on where they are at in the scripting stage. This could lead to some frustration from fans and audiences who want to see the DCU have a clear direction the MCU has had in the past. Making the DCU too standalone and on the fly gets into the dangerous territory of where the Sony Spider-Man-less universe ended up.

I’m looking forward to the upcoming slate of projects from DC Studios, and as a DC fan, hope the new universe reaches its full potential and shows general audiences it can be just as satisfying as the MCU. While the most important thing for viewers like myself is the quality, the reality is its financial success is what will dictate its future. Because DC Studios is being careful and only greenlighting the films it believes are of high quality, that is very reassuring for the Clayface film. The Hollywood Reporter has also shared Clayface’s budget will cost around $40 million, and keeping costs low with a quality story is the best chance it will have at success.

A lot surrounding the Clayface is encouraging; it’s hard not to think of how poorly Kraven the Hunter is performing and not think of how DC Studios is doing something similar with Clayface. The franchise Clayface is in may have more clarity than the one Kraven the Hunter was part of, but a move like this early on in the DCU gives me pause. Hopefully, by the time Clayface comes out, the DCU will be in a place where audiences trust DC Studios since Superman, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, and various other television projects will come out before it. If the DCU has a string of hits and misses like Sony, then the Clayface film could lead to another DCEU.