# Clayface (film)
**Clayface** is a 2026 American body horror film directed by James Watkins and produced by [DC Studios](https://www.edgepedia.org/dc-studios), based on the [DC Comics](https://www.edgepedia.org/dc-comics) shape-shifting Batman villain of the same name. It stars Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen, a rising Hollywood actor who is disfigured by a crime boss and turns to an experimental treatment that restores his looks but transforms him into a creature of living clay and sets him on a path of revenge. [Warner Bros. Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/warner-bros-pictures) handled distribution, giving the film a North American theatrical-only opening on October 23, 2026, with international rollout starting on October 21, 2026.[1](https://www.clayfacemovie.com/) It marks the DC Universe's first foray into the horror genre.[2](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/clayface-trailer-dc-batman-villain-body-horror-b2964060.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director | James Watkins (*Eden Lake*, *Speak No Evil*)[1](https://www.clayfacemovie.com/) |
| Writers | Screenplay by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini; story by Flanagan[1](https://www.clayfacemovie.com/) |
| Lead | Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen / Clayface; co-starring Naomi Ackie, David Dencik, Max Minghella, and Eddie Marsan[1](https://www.clayfacemovie.com/) |
| Release | October 23, 2026 (North America); October 21, 2026 (international), theatrical only, Warner Bros. Pictures[1](https://www.clayfacemovie.com/) |
| Rating and length | R for strong bloody violence, gore, language, some nudity and brief drug use; 108 minutes[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Clayface-%282026%29) |
| Production budget | $40,000,000[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Clayface-%282026%29) |
| Franchise placement | A standalone DCU film set before the events of *Superman* and *Creature Commandos* season 1[4](https://www.gamesradar.com/how-to-watch-dc-movies-in-order-dceu/) |
| Source character | Clayface first appeared in *Detective Comics* #40 (1940)[5](https://www.dc.com/characters/clayface) |
## Origin and development
The film originated with writer Mike Flanagan, known for horror work including *The Haunting of Hill House* and *Doctor Sleep*, who came in with a pitch fusing superhero cinema and horror while DC Studios co-CEOs [James Gunn](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-gunn) and [Peter Safran](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-safran) were planning their slate of projects. At first, neither executive had planned on a solo film featuring Clayface, an obscure Batman comic antagonist, yet Flanagan's pitch convinced them both and ultimately grew into a screenplay by Flanagan and Hossein Amini. Safran said the project fit the breadth of film and television they wanted to make at DC Studios.[6](https://apnews.com/article/18a4d6120f00812f1e627527ba5c4628) Gunn has said the script he received was "one of the best scripts that we've read," according to [The Hollywood Reporter](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-hollywood-reporter).[2](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/clayface-trailer-dc-batman-villain-body-horror-b2964060.html)
Watkins, whose credits include *Speak No Evil* and *[The Woman in Black](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-woman-in-black-2012-film)*, directed from that screenplay. In an interview with Empire, he compared the film to [David Cronenberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-cronenberg)'s 1986 remake of *[The Fly](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-fly-1986-film)*, saying that like Seth Brundle, Matt Hagen's powers are the source of the horror: his body is changing, his mind is unstable, and the story taps into the fear of not being in control.[7](https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/dc-studios-clayface-movie-everything-to-know) Gunn later shared a list of body horror films, largely from Cronenberg's filmography, for audiences ahead of the premiere.[8](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/dc-movies/james-gunn-shares-list-of-body-horror-movies-to-watch-ahead-of-clayface-premiere-and-its-mostly-david-cronenberg/)
The adaptation draws on the character's long comics history. In the comics, Clayface began as Basil Karlo, a B-list actor who, furious at not being cast in a horror remake he had starred in, wore the film's Clayface costume to kill the movie's actors; Watkins' film instead uses Matt Hagen, taking inspiration from the two-part episode "Feat of Clay" of *Batman: The Animated Series* and twisting the original story slightly.[9](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/movies-tv/article/clayface-horror-superhero-dc-22480832.php) Press coverage notes the film incorporates elements of Basil Karlo, Matt Hagen, and Preston Payne's lore.[10](https://comicbook.com/movies/feature/who-is-clayface-origin-powers-x-more-key-things-to-know-about-the-dcus-new-batman-villain/)
## Story and cast
Matt Hagen's rise from a Gotham street kid to a Hollywood leading man is cut short when a local crime boss's actions leave him horribly disfigured. Abandoned by his team and with nothing left, he seeks out a cutting-edge treatment that miraculously returns him to his former self but unexpectedly affects his grip on reality, spiraling him down a destructive path of all-consuming revenge.[1](https://www.clayfacemovie.com/) Trade summaries describe the film as one man's horrifying descent from rising Hollywood star to revenge-filled monster, exploring the loss of identity and humanity, corrosive love, and the dark underbelly of scientific ambition.[11](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/clayface)
Alongside Harries, the cast includes [Naomi Ackie](https://www.edgepedia.org/naomi-ackie), David Dencik, Max Minghella, and [Eddie Marsan](https://www.edgepedia.org/eddie-marsan), as well as Nancy Carroll and Joshua James.[1](https://www.clayfacemovie.com/) The film is a 6th & Idaho production; it was produced by [Matt Reeves](https://www.edgepedia.org/matt-reeves), Lynn Harris, James Gunn, and Peter Safran, with Michael E. Uslan, Chantal Nong Vo, Lars P. Winther, Paul Ritchie, Rafi Crohn, and Trevor Macy executive producing.[1](https://www.clayfacemovie.com/) Rob Hardy serves as cinematographer, James Price as production designer, Jon Harris as editor, and Keith Madden as costume designer on Watkins' crew, while the score comes from Volker Bertelmann.[1](https://www.clayfacemovie.com/) Reeves, director of *The Batman*, is a producer on the film, but it is set in the same DC Universe as *Superman*, *Supergirl*, *Lanterns*, *Creature Commandos*, and *Peacemaker* season two, not the Robert Pattinson Batman continuity.[7](https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/dc-studios-clayface-movie-everything-to-know)
## Release and reception
The film was released theatrically in North America on October 23, 2026, and internationally beginning October 21, 2026, in markets including France, South Korea, and Australia; it was rated R by the MPA for strong bloody violence, gore, language, some nudity, and brief drug use.[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Clayface-%282026%29) It was shot in Liverpool.[12](https://www.visitbritain.org/sites/ind/files/2025-12/What%27s%20New%20in%20England%202026_0.pdf)
**Early reactions were divided.** At the social media embargo lifting in mid-October 2026, some critics praised the film as a dark, violent, gruesome addition to the DCU; film critic Peter Gray called it "dark, violent, with little levity to offset the nastiness," and one reaction called it "the proof of concept of DC Studios: a movie that works on its own first, all shared universe considerations secondary."[13](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/dc-movies/clayface-first-reactions-say-the-dcu-horror-movie-holds-nothing-back-and-is-shockingly-gruesome/) Other reactions called it a "total misfire" and a "goopy mess" and drew comparisons to *[Morbius](https://www.edgepedia.org/morbius-film)*.[14](https://geektyrant.com/news/clayface-divides-critics-as-new-reactions-call-it-a-total-misfire-a-goopy-mess-and-compare-it-to-morbius) [French press](https://www.edgepedia.org/french-press) reviews collected by AlloCiné averaged 2.8 out of 5 from five publications; Le Point criticized the film for chasing too many genres at once, while Les Fiches du Cinéma called it an honest entertainment lacking ambition.[15](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm-1000016901/critiques/presse/)
## Place in the DCU
The film is confirmed as part of the new DCU continuity and stands as the franchise's first horror entry.[2](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/clayface-trailer-dc-batman-villain-body-horror-b2964060.html) Gunn confirmed the film is set before the events of *Superman* and *Creature Commandos* season 1 on the DCU timeline.[4](https://www.gamesradar.com/how-to-watch-dc-movies-in-order-dceu/) Gunn has also said the film will not be the last audiences see of the shapeshifting villain.[16](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/dc-movies/dc-boss-james-gunn-says-the-clayface-movie-wont-be-the-last-we-see-of-the-shapeshifting-batman-villain/) Its standalone positioning, a horror film first and a comic book movie second, has been framed by commentators as a test of whether a comic-based film can succeed outside the superhero genre while sharing a universe with more conventional entries.[13](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/dc-movies/clayface-first-reactions-say-the-dcu-horror-movie-holds-nothing-back-and-is-shockingly-gruesome/)
## References
1. [Clayface | Official Movie Site (Warner Bros. / DC Studios)](https://www.clayfacemovie.com/)
2. [Clayface trailer sparks comparisons to horror movies as DC fans praise 'frightening' new turn, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/clayface-trailer-dc-batman-villain-body-horror-b2964060.html)
3. [Clayface (2026) - Box Office and Financial Information, The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Clayface-%282026%29)
4. [How to watch DC movies in order, GamesRadar+](https://www.gamesradar.com/how-to-watch-dc-movies-in-order-dceu/)
5. [Clayface | Official DC Character](https://www.dc.com/characters/clayface)
6. [Can DC blend horror with a superhero movie? 'Clayface' wants to blur genres, Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/18a4d6120f00812f1e627527ba5c4628)
7. [Is DC's Clayface Movie Set in The Robert Pattinson Universe? Everything To Know, SYFY WIRE](https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/dc-studios-clayface-movie-everything-to-know)
8. [James Gunn shares list of body horror movies to watch ahead of Clayface premiere, GamesRadar+](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/dc-movies/james-gunn-shares-list-of-body-horror-movies-to-watch-ahead-of-clayface-premiere-and-its-mostly-david-cronenberg/)
9. [How 'Clayface' blurs the line between superhero and horror genres, SF Chronicle / AP](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/movies-tv/article/clayface-horror-superhero-dc-22480832.php)
10. [Who Is Clayface? Origin, Powers & More, ComicBook.com](https://comicbook.com/movies/feature/who-is-clayface-origin-powers-x-more-key-things-to-know-about-the-dcus-new-batman-villain/)
11. [Clayface | Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/clayface)
12. [What's New in England 2026, VisitBritain](https://www.visitbritain.org/sites/ind/files/2025-12/What%27s%20New%20in%20England%202026_0.pdf)
13. [Clayface first reactions say the DCU horror movie "holds nothing back" and is "shockingly gruesome", GamesRadar+](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/dc-movies/clayface-first-reactions-say-the-dcu-horror-movie-holds-nothing-back-and-is-shockingly-gruesome/)
14. [CLAYFACE Divides Critics as New Reactions Call It a "Total Misfire" and Compare it to MORBIUS, GeekTyrant](https://geektyrant.com/news/clayface-divides-critics-as-new-reactions-call-it-a-total-misfire-a-goopy-mess-and-compare-it-to-morbius)
15. [Critiques Presse pour le film Clayface, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm-1000016901/critiques/presse/)
16. [DC boss James Gunn says the Clayface movie won't be the last we see of the shapeshifting Batman villain, GamesRadar+](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/dc-movies/dc-boss-james-gunn-says-the-clayface-movie-wont-be-the-last-we-see-of-the-shapeshifting-batman-villain/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Horror films (individual works) › Body horror films*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license