DC Studios dropped the official teaser trailer for Clayface on April 22, 2026, and the internet immediately took notice. James Gunn shared the trailer on social media with a simple caption: “Look fear in the face.” That line alone tells you everything about the tone DC is going for.
This is not a superhero movie. It is a body horror film, DC Studios’ first ever, and from the first 60 seconds of footage, it is clear that the studio is deliberately pushing the genre into uncomfortable, visceral territory. If you were expecting capes and quips, Clayface has something very different in mind.
Clayface opens in theaters worldwide on October 23, 2026, from Warner Bros. Pictures and DC Studios.
What Is the Clayface Movie About?
The official synopsis positions the film as an origin story. Welsh actor Matt Hagen, a rising star in Hollywood, has his face brutally disfigured in a knife attack. Desperate and out of options, he turns to a fringe scientist for help. The experimental procedure works, at first. His face heals. But his body begins to change in ways no one anticipated, transforming into a living mass of clay that can reshape itself into anyone’s appearance.
DC Studios describes the film as a story that explores “the loss of one’s identity and humanity, corrosive love, and the dark underbelly of scientific ambition.”
The trailer supports this: we see Hagen lying in a hospital bed, bloodied and bandaged, followed by a rapid series of face morphs, at one point he appears without a mouth, without eyes, before the final shot shows him wiping away his own face completely in a bathtub. The horror is body-level. It is intimate and deeply unsettling.
Peter Safran, co-CEO of DC Studios, has previously compared the tone to The Fly (1986), not campy, not ironic, just pure horror.
Clayface Release Date
Clayface opens in theaters on October 23, 2026, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It was originally set for September 11, 2026, but was pushed back to position it as a Halloween-season event, a deliberate strategy similar to what Universal did with Halloween Kills (2021). The October date is not a coincidence; DC wants Clayface to own the horror slot for the 2026 holiday season.
Clayface (2026) Movie Cast
| Actor | Role |
| Tom Rhys Harries | Matt Hagen / Clayface |
| Naomi Ackie | Dr. Caitlin Bates (the scientist) |
| Max Minghella | John (a Gotham City police detective) |
| Eddie Marsan | Undisclosed role |
| David Dencik | Undisclosed role |
| Nancy Carroll | Supporting role |
| Joshua James | Supporting role |
| Ruby Sear | Supporting role |
Tom Rhys Harries leads the film as Matt Hagen. The Welsh actor is best known for White Lines, The Gentlemen, and Suspicion, but Clayface is by far his biggest role to date. He was cast after a competitive shortlist that included George MacKay, Tom Blyth, Jack O’Connell, and Leo Woodall.
Naomi Ackie, known internationally for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and The Handmaid’s Tale, plays the scientist whose experimental procedure triggers Hagen’s transformation. Think Elizabeth Holmes, but in Gotham City.
Max Minghella (The Handmaid’s Tale, The Social Network) plays a Gotham detective who is also in a relationship with Ackie’s character, setting up a personal and professional collision course.
Eddie Marsan, one of British cinema’s most reliable character actors (Ray Donovan, Sherlock Holmes), and David Dencik (McMafia, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) round out the key supporting cast. Both actors have previously worked with director James Watkins.
Clayface Movie Director and Creative Team
Director: James Watkins, whose previous work includes Eden Lake, the gothic horror hit The Woman in Black, the acclaimed Black Mirror episode “Shut Up and Dance,” and the 2024 remake of Speak No Evil. Watkins is a natural fit for this material: he understands slow-burn dread and is not afraid of genuine darkness.
Screenplay: The script is credited to Mike Flanagan (Doctor Sleep, The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass) and Hossein Amini (Drive, The Wings of the Dove). Flanagan originally pitched the project to DC Studios in March 2023 and developed it through multiple drafts before scheduling conflicts, his upcoming Exorcist film and a Carrie miniseries, forced him to step away from the director’s chair. He remained on as a writer.
Producers: James Gunn, Peter Safran, Matt Reeves (The Batman, The Batman Part II), and Lynn Harris.
Cinematographer: Rob Hardy, who also shot Supergirl (2026) for DC.
Principal photography took place in Liverpool, England, under the working title Corinthians, beginning August 31, 2025. Notably, Liverpool was also used as a filming location for The Batman (2022).
Clayface Movie – Budget and Scale
Clayface is intentionally lean. The film was produced on an estimated $40 million budget, stripped-down by DC standards, and a conscious choice. Keeping the budget tight allows the film to take creative risks without the commercial pressure that typically comes with a $200 million superhero tentpole. This is a director’s film, and DC Studios knew it when they greenlit it.
Where Does Clayface Fit in the DCU?
Clayface is the third film in DC Universe Chapter One: Gods and Monsters, following Superman and Supergirl (2026). However, it is worth noting that all indications suggest the film exists somewhat apart from both The Batman franchise (the Robert Pattinson series) and the broader DCU continuity. It is positioned more as a standalone horror story set in Gotham City than as a piece of a larger crossover puzzle, though DC Universe projects are known for surprise connections.
Matt Reeves, who directs The Batman franchise, was at one point considering Clayface as a villain in a sequel or a standalone Penguin-style spin-off. Ultimately, it evolved into its own DCU entry.
Clayface in Comics: A Brief History
For those unfamiliar with the source material: Clayface is one of Batman’s oldest villains. The character first appeared in Detective Comics in 1940, originally conceived as a washed-up actor who wore a clay-like mask. In 1961, the shape-shifting abilities that define the modern version of the character were introduced. Over the decades, multiple characters have taken on the Clayface identity in the comics.
The film draws specifically from Matt Hagen, the second Clayface in comics continuity and the version most casual fans recognize from Batman: The Animated Series (1992), where the character was voiced by Ron Perlman. Mike Flanagan has confirmed the animated series served as a key inspiration, particularly the two-part episode “Feat of Clay.”Other live-action portrayals include Brian McManamon in Fox’s Gotham and Alan Tudyk in the HBO Max animated series Harley Quinn. The 2026 film marks Clayface’s first major theatrical release.