The official trailer has arrived for DC Studios’ Clayface, bringing one of Batman’s most tragic villains to the big screen in a horror thriller rated R in the U.S. Tom Rhys Harries (White Lines) stars as Matt Hagen, an ambitious actor whose attempt to rebuild his shattered life takes a gruesome turn. Watch the trailer above and read on for what to know.

The Clayface Trailer Gives Gotham Its Own The Fly

This is not a superhero movie with a few horror flourishes. It appears to be full-blown body horror with a DC logo attached.

Matt has fought his way from a violent, impoverished childhood in Gotham to the brink of Hollywood stardom. His career is finally taking off when an encounter with the girlfriend of a local crime boss leaves his face brutally carved apart.

His team abandons him, his career evaporates and Matt is left staring at a face he no longer recognises. Desperate to put himself back together, he turns to scientist Dr Caitlyn Corr, played by Naomi Ackie, and an experimental treatment capable of restoring damaged tissue.

As the trailer shows, it works. Briefly. Matt gets his face back, but the serum keeps changing him. His skin shifts, his features refuse to stay in place and the man underneath begins slipping away with them.

A standout moment unfolds inside an aeroplane bathroom after the flesh around his eyes begins folding and sealing shut. His improvised solution involves sewing scissors, while heavy turbulence makes the sequence even more likely to have audiences watching through their fingers.

Clayface Is Taking the DCU into Body-Horror Territory

“We’re not just telling a villain story, but a real psychological unraveling,” DC Studios co-head Peter Safran told Entertainment Weekly, describing the film as “the true body horror of a Cronenberg-type movie”.

The influence of David Cronenberg’s The Fly is clear, with Matt’s transformation unfolding gradually rather than arriving in one spectacular burst. Each apparent fix creates a fresh problem as his body, identity and grip on reality deteriorate together.

Director James Watkins said the emotional core was just as important as the physical horror. “You want to take people on a journey, but I don’t want that journey just to be clockwork,” he explained. “I want it to have a heart. I thought that’s what this had.”

The Full Clayface Transformation Is Staying Hidden

The trailer offers a brief tease towards the end, but Clayface’s completed form will reportedly not appear in the film’s marketing.

“You don’t want to show the shark,” Watkins said, referencing Jaws. “I think people give away too much.”

Watkins said preserving the mystery would allow audiences to piece things together rather than seeing the creature fully revealed before entering the cinema.

Gotham, Before Batman

Clayface will introduce Gotham City to James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DC Universe before its Batman has even been cast.

Watkins explained that Gotham is a large city and Matt would not necessarily cross paths with its better-known residents. His priority was ensuring the story remained honest to itself rather than forcing familiar faces into the narrative.

There will still be small details for fans to notice. “There are little Easter eggs for those really in the know,” Watkins revealed, adding that the references are light enough that viewers unfamiliar with the wider DC world should not feel pulled out of the story.

The film sits within the main DCU rather than Matt Reeves’ separate Batman universe, although Reeves serves as a producer. Safran has also confirmed that Harries’ Matt Hagen is the same Clayface who appears in Creature Commandos, with this origin story taking place earlier in the timeline.

Horror Heavyweights Are Behind the Transformation

Watkins directs following Eden Lake, The Woman in Black and the 2024 remake of Speak No Evil. The screenplay comes from Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, based on a story by Flanagan.

Mike Flanagan, whose credits include The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass and Doctor Sleep, originally developed the project after being inspired by Clayface’s tragic two-part storyline in Batman: The Animated Series. DC Studios initially hoped he would direct, but his crowded schedule prevented him from taking the helm.

Watkins said the screenplay explored “questions of our humanity — how we lose our humanity and what it means to be a monster”, with Amini later helping to develop Flanagan’s original concept.

The cast also includes David Dencik, Max Minghella, Eddie Marsan, Nancy Carroll and Joshua James.

When Will Clayface Be Released?

Clayface opens in Australian cinemas on October 22 and U.S. cinemas on October 23.

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