DC Set Photo Reveals Reference To Joker, And I Have So Many Questions About How The Villain Exists In The Shared Universe

Superman ushered in the start of James Gunn's DCU, and while everyone is excited to see who he gets to play Batman within this canon, we'll be seeing one of his more iconic villains first. In fact, when the horror-leaning Clayface hits theaters, we may see one of his other notable foes (or multiple versions even), depending on what the graffiti spotted on the set of the movie means.

A leaked photo from the set of the allegedly horrifying Clayface movie is circulating on the web (via @CultureCrave), and although no characters are visible, the words on the wall are intriguing. Written on the wall in spray paint is the phrase "The Jokers," and it could mean many things. Here are some of the thoughts I have after seeing it, all of which feel equally likely in this brave new world of upcoming DC movies.

Does This Mean There Are Multiple Jokers In The DCU?

"The Jokers" is plural, so it doesn't take a genius to wonder if this means there is more than one Joker in the DCU. There's a precedent for this in DC Comics, with some mentioning the notable "Three Jokers" storyline, in which Batman follows three different people taking on the Clown Prince of Crime. Fans have wanted to see this storyline adapted to live-action for years, and fan trailers were created imagining how it would look. I would love to see any of the past Joker actors return if so, or maybe some oddball choice like Timothée Chalamet to play him? Hey, a guy can dream.

Is This A Reference To Joker's Gang?

The animation fan in me that desperately wants to see Batman Beyond adapted to live-action, so I'm hoping "The Jokers" could be a take on the 2040 gang "Jokerz" who were prevalent during Terry McGinnis' time at the Caped Crusader. We know Clayface got the quick greenlight because storytelling wizard Mike Flanagan had a great idea for a script, and what if that great idea was to make it a secret Batman movie set in the near future?

Flanagan is more known for making some of the best horror shows and movies, so it may be reaching a bit to think he'd skew more sci-fi here to bring old Bruce Wayne and a suited-up Terry for this movie. Still, we're not far off from the actual year the animated series was set, so maybe we'll get an adaptation of that eventually.

Is This Just Meaningless Graffiti?

If I had a nickel for every time I ascribed meaning to graffiti in a DC movie and it ultimately meant nothing, I'd have...well, at least one nickel. We went through this in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice with Joker's graffiti on Robin's costume, and nothing ever directly came out of that.

If Joker lore is indeed a meaningful part of the Clayface movie, I would think the set would go to some length to hide the graffiti so that some random person on set wouldn't just snap a photo of it. Then again, maybe the point is that it was put in the movie for a reason, as a tease that we'll eventually get multiple versions of The Joker, or a gang of Joker's followers.

The point I'm trying to make is that we may know something about The Joker and his eventual role in the DCU, but really, we know absolutely nothing. Hopefully, the coming months will give us more clues about The Joker and what he's up to in the DCU, because we have a long time before this movie is finally in theaters.

Clayface is scheduled to release in September 2026. I'm thrilled to see the movie when it finally comes out, and doubly so if there's going to be some weirdness going on with The Joker. I'm thrilled to see how this movie turns out, and if it'll be just as spooky as some of Mike Flanagan's other projects.