James Gunn’s DCU Is Switching Genres Again Next Month

The new DC Universe is getting ready to change genres yet again in 2026, and next month’s update to the franchise will be quite interesting for a variety of factors. James Gunn’s DC Universe began in December 2024 with the release of the animated Creature Commandos series. After that came 2025’s Superman movie, HBO Max’s Peacemaker season 2, Milly Alcock’s Supergirl movie, and HBO’s Lanterns.

The first three projects in the DCU Chapter One were all either fully written and directed by Gunn or mostly done so. As such, while they have their differences, especially how raunchy Peacemaker could get compared to Superman, they all shared the same DNA. Supergirl served as a major genre shift for the DCU, taking place almost entirely in space with a Space Western vibe to it.

Then came Lanterns. While the new live-action DC TV show continues the sci-fi genre from Supergirl, Lanterns mixes that up with a healthy dose of crime thriller. Its True Detective inspiration is clearly felt, and with a TV-MA rating and a gloomy atmosphere, it stands as the DCU’s darkest and most mature release, five projects into this new shared universe.

That said, the DCU is getting ready to switch tones again next month, and October’s DCU release will do so by exploring a genre that no other project in the franchise has touched thus far. The next release in the DCU’s Chapter One is Clayface, which arrives in theaters on October 23, and touches on the latter part of Chapter One’s “Gods and Monsters” label, though differently from Creature Commandos.

The DCU Goes Into Body Horror With Clayface

While the animated series was a high-octane release that focused on action-packed sequences with TV-MA blood and gore, as well as sharp humor, Clayface is going fully into horror. Clayface did appear in the DCU first in the animated Creature Commandos, showing up in his full monstrous form and fighting Frank Grillo’s Rick Flag Sr. and David Harbour’s Eric Frankenstein. However, it had a more standard action tone to it, with the show bringing in a fully realized version of Clayface.

The upcoming DC movie focused on the Batman villain will turn back the clock to explore how Matt Hagen, played by Tom Rhys Harries, turned into the frightening monster. To do that, Clayface is going the body horror route. The Clayface trailers and teasers that have been released so far show how this new DC film will be different from anything we have seen before in the DCU and, really, most live-action superhero projects. Hagen’s face melts away at parts of the trailers, his eyes become glued shut by skin that he has to cut with scissors, and so on.

It is safe to say that Clayface will not be a DC movie for the faint of heart. So far, none of the DCU’s projects released thus far have really used horror elements. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, projects like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Werewolf by Night, Marvel Zombies, and a couple of others have veered into horror partly or full-time. That said, judging by Clayface‘s trailers, the DCU movie will take a darker step than any of those did.

Clayface Being A Horror Movie Is A Good Sign For Its Success

In 2026, DC Studios has only released a single movie in theaters so far, Alcock’s Supergirl. Sadly, the DC movie became a box office bomb, finishing its theatrical run with a low sum of $126 million. Carrying a pricey reported budget of $170 million, Supergirl lost the studio a considerable amount. That is why Clayface comes in as the perfect project for the franchise. First, due to its roots in horror, there is a lot that can be done to build up tension without resorting to Matt Hagen being fully in Clayface form for most of the DC movie.

DC can save a lot on the CGI budget by using practical effects, prosthetics, and clever lighting/shadows. Clayface comes with a modest budget of $40 million, which is quite low for modern superhero movies. For comparison, the scrapped Batgirl movie, which was made for HBO Max, carried a $90 million price tag, more than double the sum it took to make the DCU’s next theatrical release. When compared with Supergirl‘s gargantuan $170 million budget, Clayface‘s breakeven point is much easier to reach.

Based on its $40 million budget, Clayface needs to finish its box office run between $80 million and $100 million to break even, which should not be a hard feat for DC. Anything over that, even if it is just Supergirl‘s low $126 million box office total, would already be deemed a success for DC Studios. Another major element that should help Clayface‘s performance aside from its modest budget is the fact that 2026 seems to be the year of horror movies in theaters. The low-budget releases Obsession and Backrooms became global sensations, grossing $512 million and $394.1 million, respectively. Clayface could be boosted by the horror trend.

The DCU Embracing Different Genres Is Great For Its Future

The fact that the DCU is having such major genre shifts, going from Supergirl‘s Space Western to Lanterns‘ sci-fi crime thriller to Clayface‘s body horror, is why the shared universe is so exciting. The DC Universe does not cater to any single tone, with Gunn having already talked at length about how each individual project is free to chase the right tone, rating, and genre that best serves its story. That marks a major shift from a superhero franchise like the MCU, which started in 2008 and only had an R-rated movie for the first time in 2024.

As for the old DCEU, that shared universe only had one TV show, Gunn’s Peacemaker, which has now jumped universes, and no animated series. When the DCU’s Chapter One was announced, Gunn unveiled five planned shows and opened the franchise with the TV-MA animated series Creature Commandos. Superhero projects need to have variety so that audiences escape the so-called superhero fatigue. By embracing different genres, the DCU always keeps itself fresh, with viewers being taken into wildly different corners of the franchise that really makes the world feel lived-in. Clayface continues that bold and exciting direction for the DCU.