Clayface goes full horror

Warner Bros. used CinemaCon to show exhibitors a first look at “Clayface,” and the footage turns the Batman villain into an explicit body-horror movie. (variety.com) Variety and Deadline reported that the trailer includes Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen, a disfigured actor in a hospital bed, before his face peels and melts as he transforms. The footage was screened April 14 at the Warner Bros. presentation in Las Vegas and was not released publicly online. (variety.com) (deadline.com) The Hollywood Reporter said DC Studios co-chief Peter Safran introduced the footage at CinemaCon, where the film was framed as a horror-leaning detour inside the studio’s larger superhero slate. The movie is directed by James Watkins, with a script credited to Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini. (hollywoodreporter.com) (thewrap.com) Clayface has existed in Batman comics for decades, but the character has changed forms over time, from a masked actor and criminal to a shapeshifting mud-like monster. The CinemaCon footage centers on Matt Hagen, one of the better-known comic-book versions of the villain. (britannica.com) (dc.com) DC Studios has spent the past year signaling that its new film universe will not use one house style for every project. A horror-driven “Clayface” sits alongside “Supergirl” and “Lanterns,” giving Warner Bros. a villain movie that looks closer to a creature feature than a standard comic-book origin story. (hollywoodreporter.com) (ign.com) The release date also moved into Halloween season. Multiple trade reports said Warner Bros. shifted “Clayface” from September 11, 2026, to October 23, 2026, a slot that better matches the film’s horror marketing. (deadline.com) (screenrant.com) The cast includes Naomi Ackie, Max Minghella, Eddie Marsan and David Dencik alongside Harries. Production was reported last year in England, with location work in Liverpool and stage work at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden. (movieweb.com) (en.wikipedia.org) For now, the movie’s selling point is not mystery but texture: a DC film that showed theater owners a man’s face sliding off in chunks. Warner Bros. plans to put “Clayface” in theaters on October 23, 2026. (variety.com)