In the realm of comic books, Batman’s rogues gallery is second to none, as each major villain poses a different challenge to the caped crusader, whether it be Riddler’s intellect or Joker’s anarchy. While Joker has made a plethora of live-action appearances, which date back to the ’60s, and remains one of the most esteemed villains in fiction, fans have been long asking for filmmakers to shed light on other Batman villains.
Although Matt Reeves took this approach and redeemed Riddler onscreen and is now once again excelling with The Penguin, it appears they are once again shifting their focus to Joker, which might mean bad news for Clayface.
Barry Keoghan’s Joker Show Might Be On the Cards After The Penguin’s Success
Since his debut in Batman: The Animated Series, Clayface has become one of the most notable villains in the Caped Crusader’s rogues gallery, and rightfully so. While fans were hoping The Batman Epic Crime Saga could fill this hole and explore his lore with a more grounded story in a potential TV series, it seems Reeves is more interested in giving Joker the spotlight.
According to Marvelvision podcast, there are apparent talks about a potential Joker show, and Barry Keoghan is allegedly in talks to reprise his role. Considering how The Penguin is building up to the events of The Batman 2, the filmmakers are allegedly taking a similar stance with the potential Joker show, which will build up to the events of The Batman 3.
Clayface Can Be a Perfect Candidate for The Batman Epic Crime Saga
While it can’t be said for certain if the aforementioned report is factual or not, given the success of The Penguin, the possibility doesn’t seem too far-fetched. However, a potential show about Joker doesn’t seem necessary at this point, as the character has had several iterations onscreen over the decades. As for Clayface, even though his fantastical elements might not fit the bill for a more grounded universe, there is one version of the character that could be perfect for The Batman Epic Crime Saga.
Unlike the most notable iteration of the character, Clayface initially possessed no supernatural abilities, and his expertise simply relied on disguising himself. Moreover, keeping in mind that Matt Reeves is open to morphing some characters to make them suitable for his grounded universe, this version of Clayface seems ideal for his use.
That’s exactly what we want to do. Gentleman Ghost is probably pushed a bit too far for us to be able to find a way to do, but there is a fun way to think about how we would take characters that might push over into a bit of the fantastical and find a way to make sense of that.
Although fans will hope Clayface eventually ends up appearing in The Batman Epic Crime Saga, if the Joker show reports are to be believed, a potential Clayface show might become a distant dream.
The Penguin is currently streaming on Max.
