With just a few weeks to go before it hits cinemas, Clayface is showing a little more of itself with its very latest trailer, el famoso final trailer as they say. A chance to see that DC Studios' next production will be far more than a straightforward superhero adaptation. After The Batman and its darker take on Gotham, DC is continuing to explore different tones with its characters. Clayface goes even further, leaning much more towards horror, and body horror specifically. It's a fascinating approach, not least because the film was directed by James Watkins, the British filmmaker who made his name with Eden Lake in 2008 before moving on to The Woman in Black with Daniel Radcliffe and, more recently, Speak No Evil in 2024, in which James McAvoy plays a family man hiding something inside him you'd really rather not know about. A track record in horror and psychosis that makes his arrival on Clayface both logical and intriguing. The film follows the gradual transformation of Matt Hagen, played by Tom Rhys Harries, into one of Batman's most unsettling adversaries. And judging by the new footage, the studio is clearly going all in on body horror.
Angel face, er, sorry, clay face
Clayface tells the story of how Matt Hagen's Hollywood acting career is brutally cut short after a violent assault in which his face is slashed with a knife — a very sharp one at that. Desperate to get his old life back, and above all his old angel face, he agrees to undergo an experimental treatment. And of course, that's where things go seriously off the rails. One scene in the trailer shows the character enduring a particularly stomach-churning medical procedure, before his body gradually starts to change. Fair warning to anyone who doesn't like needles near their eyes...
Elsewhere, the new trailer reuses several sequences already seen in previous videos, but also unveils some fresh footage. We get another look at Doctor Caitlin Bates, played by Naomi Ackie, who is trying to work out what is happening to Matt Hagen. We also learn that our former heart-throb can now alter his face and his appearance at will, though his new powers quickly seem to outstrip what he's able to control. This metamorphosis isn't limited to his physical form either, as Matt Hagen appears to be gradually losing his grip on reality while his body becomes harder and harder to rein in. Either way, DC Studios is still keeping his final appearance under wraps, and for once a trailer doesn't give everything away, banking instead on the element of surprise.
A horror film first, a superhero film second
Clayface will also be a chance to find out how this story slots into the new DC universe put together by James Gunn and Peter Safran. For now, the film seems deliberately designed to work as a standalone tale centred on Matt Hagen's transformation, with an approach far closer to a horror thriller than a traditional superhero blockbuster. A bit like Matt Reeves' The Batman, in fact.
Clayface arrives in cinemas on 21 October 2026, and we'll be giving you our verdict on the film very soon. Because yes, we've already seen it.
