Where will Clayface appear next in the DCU? 3 possible paths

Clayface is a fine movie that has kept growing on me since I saw it. I rank it above Supergirl but below Superman and Lanterns in the DCU, and I think I might know where Matt Hagen pops up next. Beyond a very likely return in Creature Commandos season 2, I see three options for the character.

I saw Clayface on opening day, a Thursday afternoon, at the earliest screening I could get into. Coming out, my first impression was simple: that was fine. It wasn't some masterpiece. It wasn't a train wreck.

Why Clayface sits better with me the longer I think about it

With me, an opinion on a film tends to marinate. When you analyze what you watch, you overthink things. Sometimes the more I think about a movie, the more I realize I didn't like it, and certain things that didn't work for me start to stand out. Other times the more I sit with a movie, the more I realize how much I did like it, and things start to stick out as working well.

Mickey 17 was one of those for me. I'd still probably categorize it as fine. It wasn't the great, perfect thing I was hoping for, and I came out a little let down. But I couldn't stop thinking about it, because it's such an interesting concept, and the performances and cinematography were great. I think it says something when a movie sticks with you, and that's what Clayface is doing for me.

Funnily enough, Naomi Ackie is in both films, and she's great. Clayface is sitting well with me. I didn't come out of that reflection feeling more negative about it. I came out feeling more positive, though I don't think I'd change the ranking I gave it in my initial reaction.

Clayface feels like DC's version of the first Venom

Clayface was a movie I was looking forward to, but I wasn't dying to see it. I felt it had many similarities to Venom, especially in the marketing. It's not only that they're both goo monsters with personality disorders. They're both solo villain movies drawn from two of the greatest rogues galleries of all time, Batman's and Spider-Man's.

The marketing leaned on the lab material, the monster within, and something to do with Batman. I think it did feel like DC's answer to Sony's Venom, except DC is in a position where it could use Batman if it wanted to, legally speaking.

I think the first Venom is pretty good. Not great, but not bad either. The sequels, Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Venom: The Last Dance, are atrocious, down there with Morbius and Kraven the Hunter. I'd put Clayface roughly on par with that first Venom, and that's a compliment coming from me. That franchise went in a horrible direction after its first film, and I hope the same won't happen to Clayface.

I don't think Clayface knew what it wanted to be

I don't think Clayface knew what it wanted to be. Horror is my favorite genre, and by horror I don't mean slashers, though those are great and they are horror. I mean films in the vein of Hereditary, The Conjuring, Obsession and Smile. That's what I felt this movie was being sold as, and that's not what I got from it.

The body horror was done well, even though I don't really like body horror. But the movie didn't feel like a horror movie to me. It felt more like a science fiction thriller. So, like Matt Hagen himself, I think the movie was having a bit of an identity crisis.

I think that happens when you try to take the comic book movie genre out of a comic book movie. I've never been a fan of the claim that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was Marvel's first horror movie, because it isn't a horror movie. The comic book movie is a great genre in itself. It can be funny, scary, lighthearted or dark, and it can lean into other genres. But first and foremost, comic book movies should feel like comic book movies, especially when they're part of a wider universe like the DCU. With the big DC Studios banner and all the marketing, I feel Clayface was sending mixed signals about what it was, and the movie felt that way too. Overall, though, I liked it.

Clayface 2 doesn't look likely to me

This is the same version of Clayface we already met in Creature Commandos season 1, so we will very likely see him pop up in season 2. Apart from that, I see three options, and the first is a sequel.

The movie isn't running away with it at the box office, and it isn't some universally beloved thing. Granted, it has a fresh score of 76 on Rotten Tomatoes, which is nothing to sneeze at. Still, I don't think Clayface 2 is in the cards right now.

Clayface could be the villain of a DCU Batman movie

I think the next appearance of Clayface could be what he's supposed to be: a Batman villain. He could be the villain of The Brave and the Bold, or of any DCU Batman movie.

I'm not saying Clayface should be required viewing to understand that Batman movie. The idea is that if you did see Clayface, you'd go in with an even deeper attachment to and appreciation of the lore connected to that villain. If you haven't seen it, the Batman movie would still give you what you need to know.

I would like to see Clayface be the villain. We've had Riddler, Joker, Two-Face, Bane and Penguin. Let's do an extravagant, fantastical villain for an extravagant, fantastical DCU Batman. I think that would be great.

A Suicide Squad movie set on Salvation could bring in Clayface

The third option is a Suicide Squad movie. I've long speculated about the next one, and yes, I want it made. James Gunn is busy, but I'd love for him to write and direct it as well. I think it should star John Cena and bring Margot Robbie back as Harley Quinn.

I think it needs to take place on Salvation, the planet where A.R.G.U.S. sent Peacemaker at the end of season 2. I also want a character in there who may get thrown onto Salvation after killing the leader of Boravia. So what if Batman, A.R.G.U.S. or whoever captures Clayface and puts him on Salvation as well?

Then we could have Clayface among other Batman rogues and DC villains in a Suicide Squad movie, another R-rated film where he can get graphically violent and be an antihero. I think it would be great all around, and those are my hopes for the future of the Clayface character in the DCU.