Creature Commandos seemingly featured many deaths for some DC characters, but one stuck out to fans given recent developments. In Episode 5, the villain Clayface is seemingly killed by Eric Frankenstein, and the death seems to be confirmed when, in Episode 8, Amanda Waller and John Economos find Clayface’s destroyed body a day later in the story’s timeline. This was puzzling to many viewers, as right before the Clayface debut episode aired, it was confirmed that filmmaker Mike Flanagan was working on a Clayface movie.
Director James Gunn has now clarified the status of Clayface’s role in the DCU and whether the character is dead. The director took to Bluesky (via ComicBook), clarifying that Clayface is NOT dead within the DCU: “The reports of Clayface’s death have been greatly exaggerated. He is quite mushy, though.” Gunn’s comments are a play on Mark Twain’s famous response to a newspaper that erroneously published his obituary. Twain replied, “Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.”
The news surrounding Clayface’s status is another example of Gunn using social media to answer fan questions and dispel rumors about DC projects, similar to the fan-submitted questions being answered by writers and editors in comic books. Gunn recently revealed a first look at Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow and addressed the canon status of his previous DC film, The Suicide Squad. With Clayface alive in the DCU, fans are now curious about exactly how the Clayface seen in Creature Commandos will connect to director Mike Flanagan’s upcoming film.
The Past and Future of Clayface in the DCU

Of all the DCU projects, Clayface might be the most interesting. It was not part of the initial DCU slate Gunn shared in January 2023, but the character does fit within the “Gods and Monsters” title that Gunn has given his first DCU chapter. While Batman villains like Joker, Penguin, and Catwoman have all led spin-off projects, not many fans expected one from Clayface, a lesser-known but deeply loved Batman villain. There is also the fact that the Clayface movie is set to be released before the DCU’s Batman movie, Brave and the Bold. Mike Flanagan, the director of Doctor Sleep and the forthcoming The Life of Chuck, is writing the Clayface movie, which is set for release in September 2026.

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What is interesting about Gunn’s Clayface post is it doesn’t exactly offer any new details about Flanagan’s upcoming movie, and actually leaves us with a few questions. Many expect the movie to be an origin story, which puts it before Creature Commandos on the timeline, meaning Clayface’s death in the series is seemingly irrelevant. Gunn’s comments imply that Clayface is still alive, leaving the door open for the upcoming film, suggesting it will take place after the events of Creature Commandos. However, there have been multiple Clayfaces in the comics, so the one in Creature Commandos might not be the same Clayface we see in the feature film.

Creature Commandos

Release Date

December 5, 2024

Network

Max

Directors

Matt Peters

Franchise(s)

DC

Indira Varma

The Bride (voice)

GI Robot / Weasel (voice)

Zoe Chao

Nina Mazursky (voice)