Clayface Trailer Brings Full Body Horror to the DC Universe
The new Clayface trailer transforms Matt Hagen’s story into a grotesque body horror nightmare that looks nothing like a typical DC superhero movie.
DC Studios has released the full Clayface trailer, and anyone expecting a traditional superhero movie may want to prepare for something much more uncomfortable. This looks less like another comic book adventure and more like a full body horror tragedy built around one of Batman’s most physically disturbing villains.
The Clayface Trailer Goes All In on Body Horror
The trailer follows Matt Hagen, played by Tom Rhys Harries, whose rise from the streets of Gotham to Hollywood stardom is destroyed after a violent attack leaves him horribly disfigured. With his career and identity taken from him, Matt agrees to an experimental treatment that appears to give him his old face back.
For a moment, it looks like the procedure worked. Then his face begins to move.
The trailer shows Matt’s skin shifting, his features losing their shape, and his body becoming something he no longer understands. The most uncomfortable moment happens aboard an airplane when his eyes begin sealing shut. He retreats to the bathroom and reaches for a small pair of scissors, apparently preparing to cut through the changing skin himself.
It is a brief sequence, but it may be enough to make some viewers look away. Director James Watkins said that even members of the crew had difficulty watching the scene while it was being filmed.
The trailer still does not reveal Matt’s complete transformation into Clayface. Watkins has compared that decision to keeping the shark hidden in Jaws, believing that showing the final creature too early would take away some of its impact.
Based on what the trailer does show, there should be plenty left to reveal.
A Different Kind of DC Movie
DC Studios officially describes Clayface as a horror thriller rather than a conventional superhero movie. The story follows Matt’s descent from rising Hollywood star to revenge driven monster while exploring the loss of his identity, his humanity, and the consequences of scientific ambition.
That tragic approach should feel familiar to anyone who grew up with Batman: The Animated Series. The two part episode “Feat of Clay” presented Matt Hagen as more than another villain for Batman to defeat. His ability to change his appearance was frightening, but the real tragedy came from watching him lose control of his face, career, and sense of self. The new movie appears to be taking that tragedy and pushing it much further into horror.
Watkins directs from a screenplay by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, based on a story by Flanagan. The film also stars Naomi Ackie, David Dencik, Max Minghella, Eddie Marsan, Nancy Carroll, and Joshua James. Matt Reeves, Lynn Harris, James Gunn, and Peter Safran serve as producers.
Clayface arrives exclusively in theaters on October 23, 2026.
This does not look like a superhero movie with a few horror elements added to make it darker. It looks like a body horror movie that happens to be built around a DC character.
For anyone still wondering how this counts as a superhero movie, the answer may be that it is not really trying to be one.
