Gunn Defends Stand-Alone DCU Stories as Clayface Opens at No. 1
James Gunn has defended the DC Universe's habit of telling self-contained stories, just as his latest film, the horror movie Clayface, opened at No. 1 at the North American box office.
According to Variety, Clayface took in $24 million from 3,458 theatres in the United States and Canada in its debut. Those are studio estimates for the weekend, and final figures usually arrive on Monday. The film opened on Friday, October 23.
The movie is the newest entry in the DC Universe, the shared film world from DC Studios, where Gunn is co-chief. It follows Superman in 2025 and Supergirl in 2026. Directed by James Watkins, it stars Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen, a rising movie star who volunteers for a risky experimental medical procedure after his face is badly disfigured. Naomi Ackie, David Dencik, Max Minghella and Eddie Marsan also appear. The Hollywood Reporter describes it as a body horror film, a genre built on bodies changing in frightening ways.
The defence came on Threads, the social app run by Meta. Gunn wrote on Saturday that he dislikes the idea that an individual story means nothing unless it leads to something bigger. He said the DCU is an alternate universe, one where creators can step in at any point and tell their own story. Replying to a commenter who said the universe did not need to be one fully connected whole, he wrote, "I couldn't agree more."
He compared the approach to Star Wars, which he said has worked this way for about 50 years across films, shows, games and books. He also laid out the Superman plan. The saga begins with Superman and continues into Man of Tomorrow, and it includes many characters first introduced in other stories.
Gunn was clear about why he wants audiences to see Clayface. He said it is a great, fun horror movie in its own right, not a setup for where the character might turn up three films from now. IGN reported that he does not want films like this to exist only to set up crossovers.
For moviegoers, the question is whether each film has to be read as a clue to the next. Gunn's answer is no, and his own release schedule keeps the pattern going. The next film from his team, Superman: Man of Tomorrow, is set for theatres on July 9, 2027, according to Variety.
