Clayface sure looks like it's setting up Joker in the DCU – with a modern twist on the iconic Batman villain

Joaquin Phoenix in Joker — (Image credit: Warner Bros.)

James Gunn has already confirmed that, following Superman's debut, the likes of fellow Justice Leaguers Wonder Woman and Batman will appear together in his and Peter Safran's revamped DC franchise – but what about some of the comics' most iconic villains? Well, now, it looks as if the upcoming Clayface movie is setting up the Dark Knight's most famous foe: the Joker.

In a newly surfaced on-set photo, which was first shared on Twitter by @whitewidow616, we can see a black-and-white poster that reads, "Corruption is the enemy of the people." On it, there's an overexposed shot of some people in a crowd, but it's the text underneath that is most interesting. "March against the G.C.P.D. Park Row, Gotham. This Saturday, 2pm. JOIN THE JOKER," it urges, pretty much revealing that the Clown Prince of Crime will have some sort of presence in the film.

Directed by James Watkins (Speak No Evil), Clayface is filming in the UK now and will see White Lines' Tom Rhys Harries bring titular Batman character Matt Hagen to life. Described as a body horror, the flick will reportedly see former actor Matt take drastic measures after his face is disfigured by a Gotham City gangster. Naomi Ackie, Max Minghella, and Eddie Marsan also star, Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini wrote the script.

When asked whether Robert Pattinson's version of the Caped Crusader could wind up being the DCU's, The Batman director Matt Reeves previously told Happy Sad Confused's Josh Horowitz: "It really comes down to whether or not it makes sense. What's been great is there was a story that I wanted to tell with what we're calling The Epic Crime Saga and all that, which is the thrust of what we want to do. And it's been important to me to be able to play that out. And [DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn] and Peter [Safran] have been really, really great about that and they're letting us do that.