New Clayface Trailer Reveals Chilling Body Horror Elements

DC Studios has just dropped a new trailer for the upcoming Clayface movie, and it’s definitely not for the squeamish. This film, inspired by the shape-shifting Batman villain, is being labeled a “horror thriller,” promising a mix of mutilation, grotesque transformations, and other unsettling visuals.

One particularly shocking moment features Clayface using grooming scissors on his own eyes while trapped in an airplane bathroom during turbulence.

The story follows Matt Hagen (played by Tom Rhys Harries), a Gothamite who rises to fame as a Hollywood star, only to have his face disfigured by a local crime syndicate. Abandoned by the justice system and his former allies, Hagen seeks extreme measures to reclaim his life, donning a mask that echoes the chilling imagery from the French film Eyes Without a Face. He encounters a scientist (Naomi Ackie) who offers an experimental procedure to restore his appearance, but it comes with some significant side effects, including his transformation into a Silly Putty-like blob.

The trailer also hints at the more monstrous version of Clayface that fans of Batman will recognize from Batman: The Animated Series and the Batman Arkham games. Additionally, it provides our first glimpse of the new Gotham City within the DCU.

Clayface will be the next installment in DC Studios’ fresh continuity, following last year’s Superman and the upcoming Supergirl. Directed by James Watkins, known for his work in horror films like Speak No Evil, The Woman in Black, and Eden Lake, the project features a story by acclaimed showrunner and filmmaker Mike Flanagan, who co-wrote the screenplay with Hossein Amini.

This project has been in development since 2023, when Flanagan first pitched it to DC Films before it was embraced by the James Gunn-led DC Studios.

For those keeping track of superhero cinematic universes, it’s worth noting that Matt Reeves and Robert Pattinson’s highly anticipated The Batman: Part 2 will not be set in the same universe as Clayface and the broader DC Universe (DCU). That long-awaited film, along with its spinoff series The Penguin, will remain separate, likely throughout the trilogy. With The Batman: Part 2 not hitting theaters until February 18, 2028, there could be some interesting overlaps when the Caped Crusader appears in the upcoming DCU film The Brave and the Bold, which is expected around the same time.

Despite the potential for confusion, there’s hope that Clayface can help regain some momentum for the DCU, especially after Supergirl’s disappointing box office performance, when it premieres in theaters on October 23.