Everything We Know About DC Studio’s Clayface

by

As a huge DC fan, I was so excited when the revamped DCU finally took off on July 11, 2025, with James Gunn’s Superman movie. It’s a fresh take on the classic story, and honestly, it was really well received! Gunn, working alongside Peter Safran, has clearly laid out a very different path for this universe compared to what we saw with the previous DC Extended Universe. We’re already looking ahead to 2027 for Man of Tomorrow, but before that, Craig Gillespie is giving us Supergirl in June 2026, and there’s another mysterious project planned for October that has me totally intrigued!

Many Batman fans know Clayface as one of his scariest villains – a creature that can change shape and is made entirely of clay. However, it’s unclear which of the eight different Clayface characters from the comics will appear in the new movie, or if it will tie into the darker world established by The Batman starring Robert Pattinson. We’ll break down everything we know about the upcoming Clayface film from DC Studios and what it all could mean.

Clayface Has Been in Various Stages of Development Since 2021

Back in January 2021, horror director Mike Flanagan, known for shows like The Haunting of Hill House, revealed his dream DC project: a Superman movie, but he was also very interested in making a standalone Clayface film as a scary, dramatic story. He later met with Warner Bros. producer Jon Berg to discuss his idea for a Clayface movie. However, Flanagan explained in an interview with the Script Apart podcast that the meeting didn’t go well, and Berg didn’t seem interested in the concept.

By March 2023, Mike Flanagan was talking to DC again. The Batman had been a critical and commercial success, and James Gunn and Peter Safran had just announced their plans for a new DC Universe. Matt Reeves, the director of The Batman, started exploring spin-off ideas to build a larger interconnected story, which led to the The Penguin series on HBO starring Colin Farrell. Around this time, a Clayface spin-off was also considered, and Flanagan saw an opportunity to revisit his pitch. His take on Clayface wouldn’t be connected to The Batman and wouldn’t portray the character as a typical villain, differing from the comic book version.

Development on the film finally began in August 2024, and Mike Flanagan got the go-ahead to write and direct, with producers including James Gunn, Peter Safran, and Keanu Reeves. However, scheduling conflicts with Flanagan’s other projects – a Carrie miniseries for Prime Video and a reboot of The Exorcist – led to a change in directors. By February 2025, James Watkins (Speak No Evil) had taken over. Gunn admitted that Flanagan’s initial pitch was so compelling, it convinced him to make a movie about Clayface, a character Gunn hadn’t previously considered. He told io9, “Mike came in with this wonderful idea, and I couldn’t believe it got me excited about a Clayface movie.” This raises the question: what was Flanagan’s original vision for the character?

The Movie is a Hollywood Horror Story Starring the Matt Hagen Version of Clayface

The story of Clayface centers around Matt Hagen, an actor whose face is badly scarred by a criminal. Afraid this will ruin his career, he seeks help from an unconventional scientist and receives an experimental treatment that lets him change his appearance. Initially, it seems to work, but soon the treatment has a terrible side effect: his whole body starts turning into a monstrous, clay-like substance.

The new film falls into the “body horror” genre, which has become increasingly popular recently with movies like The Substance, Old, and The Beauty. It’s heavily influenced by David Cronenberg’s classic The Fly. Though the script has gone through changes since director Mike Flanagan moved on, with Hossein Amini (Drive) taking over, it’s still expected to capture the feel of Flanagan’s original inspiration: a famous two-part episode of a classic series. That episode featured Ron Perlman as a disfigured actor dependent on the villain Roland Daggett, who controlled the supply of an experimental face cream called Renuyu.

A special cream allows Hagen to change his appearance and conceal the scars from a car accident. However, when he attempts to steal a large supply from Daggett, he’s forced to ingest a massive dose, turning him into a powerful, shapeshifting clay monster. He then uses his newfound abilities to seek revenge on Daggett, which brings him into conflict with a certain masked hero. Director Mike Flanagan has stated that the classic Batman episode ‘Feat of Clay,’ featuring the character Clayface, was a major inspiration for his script, explaining, “That two-parter really blew me away, and it’s absolutely what I wanted to create.”

Who Stars in Clayface, and Where Have Audiences Seen Them Before?

Tom Rhys Harries, a Welsh actor known for his work in projects like Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen, Kandahar, Doctor Who, and Suspicion, has been cast as Hagen. He was chosen after a lengthy search that considered other actors including Jack O’Connell, George MacKay, and Leo Woodall. While this role marks a significant increase in visibility for Harries, director James Gunn emphasized that both he and Matt Reeves were incredibly impressed with Harries’ talent and are excited for audiences to see his performance in the film.

After Harries joined the project, the rest of the cast started to come together. Naomi Ackie, known for her role in Mickey 17, will play Dr. Caitlin Bates, a scientist who develops a romantic connection with Hagen. However, things are complicated because she’s also in a relationship with a police officer from Gotham City, played by Max Minghella of The Handmaid’s Tale. Eddie Marsan (Ray Donovan) and David Dencik (No Time to Die) have also been confirmed as cast members, though their roles haven’t been revealed yet.

The filming of Clayface happened mostly on location in Liverpool, England, and at Warner Bros’ Leavesden Studios. Production finished in November 2025, and by January 2026, director Watkins was finalizing the first edit. The movie’s release date was then moved from September 11th to October 23rd to aim for a strong Halloween opening. There’s a lot of excitement that this film will bring something new to the DC Universe and show that James Gunn is willing to try bold ideas. Gunn explained to CBS Mornings that while it exists within the same universe, it’s a complete horror movie, and won’t necessarily follow a single, established style like other superhero films – it won’t all feel like Superman.

5 Questions
Test Your Clayface Knowledge: DCU’s Gooey Horror Hit?
Your Top Score
—
Attempts
—
0
0
Report Error

Found an error? Send it so it can be corrected.

Read More

2026-04-17 03:07