Clayface is DC Studios’ first R-rated horror thriller, directed by James Watkins from a screenplay by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini. The story centers on Matt Hagen, an up-and-coming Hollywood actor whose career is on the ropes. After his face is brutally disfigured by a Gotham City gangster with a knife, Hagen wakes in a hospital bed bandaged and bloody. Desperate to stay relevant and repair his looks, he turns to fringe scientist Dr. Caitlin Bates for an experimental cure.
The mysterious substance injected into Hagen backfires horribly. Instead of healing him, it begins a grotesque metamorphosis: his body becomes a malleable, clay-like mass that he can reshape at will. CinemaCon footage shows his face melting, drooping, and losing all features as he struggles to control the new powers. The film blends two comic origins — Basil Karlo, the actor who used a clay mask for crimes, and Matt Hagen, the shape-shifting monster. This version keeps the name Matt Hagen but gives him Karlo’s actor background.
Clayface is framed as a body-horror descent into revenge. As Hagen’s identity erodes, he becomes “a monster driven by revenge,” exploring the loss of humanity, toxic love, and the dark side of scientific ambition. The teaser reveals him forming a spiked clay hand, showing he can do more than just change his face. Set photos confirm the R-rated tone, with Hagen bandaged and bloodied early on, hinting at the graphic disfigurement that kicks off his spiral.
Chronologically, Clayface is the first film in the new DCU timeline and takes place before Superman and Creature Commandos. James Gunn confirmed this is the same Clayface who appears in Creature Commandos. Even so, the film is described as a standalone project that won’t set up The Brave and the Bold or tie into Man of Tomorrow. It’s unclear if Batman is active in this Gotham yet. The movie leans into horror rather than superheroics, with Gunn’s team calling it “a riveting horror thriller that focuses on character rather than genre”.
Tom Rhys Harries stars as Matt Hagen / Clayface, alongside Naomi Ackie, David Dencik, Max Minghella, Eddie Marsan, Nancy Carroll, and Joshua James. Produced by James Gunn, Peter Safran, Matt Reeves, and Lynn Harris, the film hits theaters October 23, 2026 in North America and October 21, 2026 internationally. DC’s logline sums it up as “Look fear in the face” — a Hollywood horror tale about a B-movie actor who injects himself with a substance to stay relevant, only to become a walking piece of clay.
