We know that the DCU's Batman will not make his debut in Clayface (as far as we know, an actor has yet to be cast in the role), but that doesn't mean the Dark Knight's presence won't be felt in some capacity.
While speaking to SFX Magazine (via Screen Rant), director James Watkins revealed that "the shadow of the Bat" will be present in this movie's corrupt, decaying take on Gotham City.
"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."
"We want the world [of Gotham] to be corrupt," he added. "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. You're in a city called Gotham. So I guess you feel the shadow of the Bat inherently. Because of the nature of where you are."
The social media embargo for Clayface doesn't lift until tomorrow, but vague reactions have been circulating online, along with some obviously fake post-credits scene details that have managed to fool some people and even some other outlets.
The most believable "rumor" claims that two different stingers were tested, one with Matt Hagen being incarcerated in Belle Reve to set up the second season of Creature Commandos, and the other with Batman confronting Clayface as he runs across a rooftop, with the hero's unmistakable cowl reflecting in Hagen's eyes.
We also have an international TV spot featuring new footage, and a first look at Hagen taking another human form.
DC Studios’ first-ever foray into the genre, Clayface is a horror thriller from director James Watkins, starring Tom Rhys Harries in the title role of the Gotham City villain. Clayface unravels one man’s horrifying descent from rising Hollywood star to revenge-filled monster in a story that explores the loss of one’s identity and humanity, corrosive love, and the dark underbelly of scientific ambition.
The film also stars Naomi Ackie, David Dencik, Max Minghella and Eddie Marsan, as well as Nancy Carroll and Joshua James. James Watkins directs from a screenplay by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, story by Flanagan, based on characters from DC.
Clayface is produced by Matt Reeves, Lynn Harris, James Gunn and Peter Safran, with Michael E. Uslan, Rafi Crohn, Paul Ritchie, Chantal Nong Vo and Lars P. Winther executive producing.