James Gunn Proposed Low-Budget DC Horror Films After Clayface

Imagine a DC slate that leans into nightmares. That was once on the table.

During their run running the studio, James Gunn and Peter Safran reportedly explored a smaller, darker lane for DC: horror-tinged films made on tighter budgets that spotlighted lesser-known characters. The logic was simple and oddly elegant — spend less, experiment more, and let creators take bold swings without risking blockbuster-sized losses.

Clayface’s surprising box-office performance helped sell the idea. The film crossed the $109 million mark worldwide, reminding execs that audiences will follow a fresh tone if the story and atmosphere land. It proved a case study: you don’t always need a universe-spanning event to turn a character into a draw.

Gunn and Safran saw opportunity in genre diversity. Horror offers an intimacy and a chance to deepen mythologies in ways that capes-and-explosions rarely permit. Low budgets can be freeing — constraints breed creativity, and a smaller price tag lowers the bar for risk-taking. Directors could test narrative tricks, and the studio could broaden its profile without cannibalizing its big-ticket superhero tentpoles.

Clayface's $109 million-plus run showed smaller DC horror films could find a global audience.

Still, reports stress this was an interest rather than a locked strategy. With new leadership now at the helm of DC Studios, the question becomes whether the direction will stick. Will those at the top favor a diversified genre approach, or will they double down on interconnected, blockbuster-scale projects tied to the shared cinematic universe?

Whatever happens next, the episode highlights an important point: the DC catalog contains more than just headline heroes. There’s room for strange, spooky detours — if the studio chooses to take them.