DC’s Clayface Trailer Is Out, and the Studio Is Going Full Body Horror

DC Studios dropped the first trailer for Clayface on April 22, 2026, and it makes one thing immediately clear: this is not a superhero movie. It is a horror film, the first R-rated theatrical release in James Gunn’s relaunched DC Universe, and it opens in theaters on October 23.

The trailer was released publicly by DC Studios and Warner Bros. Pictures, a week after footage was first shown in-room only at CinemaCon. DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn posted it on X with a single caption: “Look fear in the face.”

The film is directed by James Watkins and stars Welsh actor Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen, a struggling actor whose face is disfigured in a knife attack. He undergoes a highly experimental medical procedure, which initially succeeds — then doesn’t. His body turns into clay that reshapes itself into anyone’s appearance. The trailer shows his face morphing, losing a mouth, losing eyes, and finally dissolving entirely in a bathtub.

Speaking with Fangoria, Gunn described the project in plain terms: “We’ve got Clayface, which is a totally different thing. Although it’s in the same universe, it’s a complete horror film. That’s one of the things we want to do — there’s not a company style. It’s not like every movie is going to be like Superman.”

DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran has been equally direct about the stakes. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Safran said, “Clayface might not be as widely known as The Penguin or The Joker, but we really feel that his story is equally resonant, compelling, and in many ways, more terrifying.” Gunn added that the film would feel “totally real” and be “true and psychological and body horror and gross.” It’s a promise the trailer delivers on in about two minutes flat.

Clayface Has Been in the Works Since a Script Changed Gunn’s Mind

The project did not begin as part of Gunn’s original DC Studios roadmap. Horror director Mike Flanagan — known for Doctor Sleep — pitched the idea, then delivered a script that Gunn described to io9 as something he couldn’t walk away from: “I didn’t plan on making a Clayface movie. Mike came in. He pitched this wonderful idea. I was like, ‘Damn, I can’t believe you got me to want to make a Clayface movie.’ He goes and writes the script. First draft is great. Second draft is even better. And then I’m like, ‘Let’s do it.'”

Flanagan was unable to direct the finished film due to scheduling conflicts with his Exorcist project and a Carrie miniseries. Watkins was brought on in February 2025, screenwriter Hossein Amini completed a rewrite by May, and Tom Rhys Harries was cast in June. Principal photography ran from August 31 to early November 2025, filmed on location in Liverpool and at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden in England. The budget was kept to around $40 million — stripped down by studio standards.

Where Clayface Sits in the DCU

The film also stars Naomi Ackie as the scientist who transforms Hagen’s body, alongside Max Minghella and Eddie Marsan. It is the third theatrical film in Gunn’s DC Universe, following Superman (2025) and the upcoming Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow (June 26, 2026). Gunn confirmed on Threads that Clayface is set before both of those films — “It’s the first DCU film out of chronological order,” he wrote — making it the earliest story in the new DC timeline.

Comparisons to Joker have already begun circulating. Like Todd Phillips’ 2019 film, Clayface functions as a villain origin story and is expected to carry an R rating, though unlike Joker and its sequel, it is fully connected to the DC Universe rather than existing as a self-contained Elseworlds project. You can also catch DC’s recent horror output covered over at Briefledger.

Clayface opens October 23, 2026.