'Clayface' Officially Sets Up Another Iconic Batman Villain in the DC Universe

Let's put a smile on that (clay)face!

Back in the summer of 2025, Clayface was filming in Liverpool. Photos from the set revealed a reference to another, far more famous Batman villain. One featured a wall with graffiti on it, and among the different tags was one that read “The Jokers.” That led to some speculation about Joker’s presence in the DC Universe’s Gotham.

Because “Jokers” is plural, some thought it could be a reference to a DC Comics storyline from 2020, which introduced the idea that instead of one Joker, there are three: the clown, the criminal, and the comedian. That would explain away any personality inconsistencies between varying depictions of the character over 80 years. Others thought “The Jokers” could be a reference to the Joker gang, which is generally portrayed as a gang of street criminals who idolize, and dress like, the Joker. Versions of the gang were featured in Batman Begins as well as The Batman. Some thought it was proof that the Joker himself would appear in Clayface.

Having seen Clayface, I know the answer to these queries, and I can share that there are way more Joker references in this movie.

So, no, the Joker is not in Clayface, much less three of him, nor does the Joker gang appear, but there are a number of references to him. To start off, I’m really not sure if this graffiti even made it into the movie, as it's certainly never focused on, though it may be at the very end of the film, hidden in the background, if anywhere.

The same is true of the other direct Joker reference found in set photos, where a paper flyer readinbg “Join the Joker” appeared on a wall. That also may have shown up in the movie, but if so, it’s not featured with any prominence.

Amusement Mile

What definitely did make it into the movie was a moment from the teaser, when Matt Hagen (Tom Rhys Harries) walks in front of a giant sign for “Amusement Mile,” which features an enormous clown face on it. While watching the movie, there’s no way this moment doesn’t make you think of the Joker. You don’t even have to know that Amusement Mile is frequently depicted as a run-down theme park which the Joker uses as a hideout.

Besides those, there are two other notable Joker references in Clayface.

One Bad Day

The first of them comes early on in the movie, when Matt is watching TV. He is awaiting the announcement of Oscar nominations, as Matt is hoping that he will be nominated. Before they get to his name, one of the films mentioned for another nominee is One Bad Day, which is a Joker reference as well.

In Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke, which many consider to be the single greatest Joker story ever told, Joker makes a reference to “one bad day” in a conversation with Batman. The Joker explains that all it takes is one bad day for someone to become as mad as he is. The Joker also, accurately, guesses that Batman had a bad day once, which explains the way he is. It’s one of the Joker’s most famous lines. One Bad Day also later became the title of a Batman/Joker story in 2022.

"Wanna know how I got these scars?"

Also, while watching the film, I couldn’t help but think of the Joker during the gruesome scene where Matt’s face gets carved up by a mob boss after Matt sleeps with his girlfriend. It’s the major turning point for the character of Clayface, yet it seemed to have a pretty notable Joker reference when the mob boss put his blade in Matt’s mouth and carved it out from the edge of his mouth in an upturned, grin-like cut. He could have cut Matt anywhere on the face, and yet he evokes the imagery of the Joker’s scarred face at that moment, specifically Heath Ledger’s depiction of the character from The Dark Knight. One can’t help but remember the two contradictory, tension-filled scenes where the Joker explains how he got his scars.

Of course, none of these references confirm the Joker’s existence in the DCU’s Gotham already. They may just be references by the writers and set designers that won’t amount to much in the future. Regardless, it seems that DC Studios heads James Gunn and Peter Safran are seriously thinking about Joker in the DCU — and they want the audience to be too.