In a recent interview with SFX Magazine, James Watkins, director of the upcoming Clayface, shared details about the film’s version of Gotham City. The film marks the first time audiences will see Gotham City in live-action within the DCU, the DC cinematic universe that began with 2025’s Superman.

As Watkins explained, he and the rest of the filmmaking team behind Clayface wanted to find real, tangible inspirations for the audience’s first look at the iconic comic book city. “We looked at a lot of 1980s and 1990s street photography,” Watkins explained.

“There was a documentary called Everybody Street, and I looked at a lot of the work of the photographers in it. It captures the bawdy glamor of New York, slightly edgy, slightly eccentric, slightly menacing, richly saturated colors.”

Watkins also explained that although the film won’t feature Batman, the character’s presence will still be felt throughout. Here’s Watkins’s full quote:

“We want the world [of Gotham] to be corrupt. We want it to be a city where litter doesn’t get picked up, where there’s a sense of decay, where there’s dirt, where the canyons of these places are overbearing. You’re in a city called Gotham. So I guess you feel the shadow of the Bat inherently. Because of the nature of where you are.”

Clayface hits theaters on October 24.