Clayface is doing things differently. Not only is it our first villain-led story in the DCU, it won't follow the typical release and chronological order laid out by James Gunn's cinematic universe so far.
Don't worry, it won't quite get as confusing as the Marvel timeline – not yet, anyway. Below, we have the answers to where Clayface takes place on the DCU timeline, as well as taking a stab at what year it falls too.
After, discover what else is on the way with our complete guide to DCU Chapter One and how to watch the DC movies in order.
When is Clayface set in the DCU timeline?
While no year is shown during Clayface, we know Matt Hagen's murder spree is set before Creature Commandos, Peacemaker season 2, Superman, Supergirl, and Lanterns' 2026-set scenes.
The key to Clayface's place on the DC timeline is Creature Commandos.
In that animated series, which takes place in 2023/2024, Clayface is introduced in his goopy, shapeshifting iteration, confirming that his origin story – which we see in 2026's movie – has already taken place.
"It's the first DCU film out of chronological order," DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn confirmed on Threads.
Confusing matters slightly is the idea that, as teased by DC Studios' Peter Safran in an interview with Collider, Batman is currently crimefighting during the events of Clayface. He is briefly shown in Creature Commandos and mentioned again during Lanterns, but there is no suggestion of how long his tenure as the Caped Crusader has lasted.
But given how he hasn't been mentioned by the GCPD in Clayface, we believe he's still firmly in the realm of 'urban myth.' And he definitely isn't mentioned in Sheriff Kane's Gotham-filled backstory in Lanterns, which took place years prior to the HBO show's investigation timeline in 2016.
If we had to take an educated guess, that would put Clayface in around 2021 or 2022, predating most of the DCU projects. How long Batman is around, though, will likely be explored in the upcoming Brave and the Bold standalone movie.
So, the current DCU timeline with Clayface included is as follows:
- Lanterns: Hal Jordan becomes Green Lantern (1986)
- Lanterns: Manhunter found in Rushville (2016)
- Clayface (2021/2022 - speculation)
- Creature Commandos (2023/2024)
- Superman (2025)
- Peacemaker season 2 (2025)
- Supergirl (2026)
- Lanterns: Hal Jordan is found dead (2026)
- Man of Tomorrow (2027)
For more, head on over to a spoiler-filled breakdown of the finale with our Clayface ending explainer.
