Another Joker Reference Popped Up In A Clayface Set Photo, And Now I’m Even More Confused About The DCU’s Clown Prince Of Crime

While it remains to be seen when we’ll meet the DC Universe’s Batman in The Brave and the Bold, one of the Caped Crusader’s more famous villains is lined up to get the cinematic spotlight on the 2026 movies schedule. Clayface will be released almost exactly a year from now, with Tom Rhys Harries playing the shapeshifting Matt Hagen. The upcoming DC movie began filming at the end of August, and now another reference has even revealed from the set concerning The Joker that has me confused about what the deal is with the Clown Prince of Crime in the DCU.

Last week, a leaked set photo came out showing the phrase “The Jokers” spray-painted on a wall, indicating there might be multiple Jokers in the DCU or that there’s a gang named after the cackling psychopath. Well, there’s new information to factor in. A new set photo, this one taken by @whitewidow616, shows a flyer stuck to a wall with a black and white picture of several nondescript figures, and the phrase “Corruption is the ENEMY of the people” is written in black across the top and bottom of said picture. Then in smaller red lettering, it says, “March against the G.C.P.D. Park Row, Gotham This Saturday 2pm JOIN THE JOKER.”

So… what’s going on here? Is The Joker leading a political movement in Gotham City when Clayface is happening? Is Joker actually concerned about systemic corruption within the police system and wants to bring reform to law enforcement? No, that doesn’t sound like something that would interest one of the greatest mass murderers in the DC Universe; at bare minimum, he wouldn’t consider it “funny.” Besides, it was only a few years ago that we watched Paul Dano’s Riddler killing corrupt individuals in The Batman, so having Joker do the same sort of thing in the DCU would feel like too much of a retread.

My best guess for now is that there’s a group in Gotham that have co-opted Joker’s name and are using it to further their own political agenda. Maybe they truly want to help the city, or maybe they have ulterior motives. Either way, unless these Jokers directly factor into what happens to Matt Hagen in Clayface, I don’t expect this will be explored in-depth. Also, if this is indeed a separate group, it’s only a matter of time before Joker starts killing people associated with them.

Although Clayface wasn’t originally part of the DCU plans, DC Studios co-head James Gunn was impressed by filmmaker Mike Flanagan’s story pitch and subsequent script drafts. Hossein Amini was later brought in rewrite portions of the script after Flanagan exited the project, and James Watkins is directing the feature. Tom Rhys Harries is joined in the Clayface cast by Naomi Ackie, Max Minghella and Eddie Marsan. The story follows up-and-coming actor Matt Hagen, who’s disfigured by a gangster and then turns to a scientist for help out of desperation, only to have his body transformed into clay.

Clayface will be released on September 11, 2026. It will be preceded by Supergirl on June 26, and while it’s not set in the DC Universe, let’s not forget that The Batman: Part II arrives on October 1, 2027.