James Gunn Wants 'Clayface' to Be Fun on Its Own, Not Just a DCU Setup
James Gunn went to Threads on Saturday to defend the DCU and his decision to expand it with individual stories, after criticism that his films were not building toward a major crossover event. He argued that this approach does not mean there is no connectivity: the Superman saga begins with Superman and continues into Man of Tomorrow, and it contains many characters introduced in other stories.
His example is Clayface. Gunn said he would love people to see it because it is a great, fun horror movie unto itself, not because of where else Clayface will show up three movies from now. That is a useful line between a shared universe and a universe in which every film is just a trailer for the next one.
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The phrase 'three movies from now' is the whole argument. A connected universe can be a playground; it becomes a problem when the film in front of you feels like a queue for the next one.
But Gunn is not describing a clean break. He says the Superman saga still carries characters introduced elsewhere, so the real question is whether continuity is texture or prerequisite. Audiences have to judge that before the credits.