Don't Expect Clayface To Be A Superhero Movie - It's Actually A Spiritual Remake Of A Gory Horror Classic

When James Gunn and Peter Safran dubbed their first phase of DC Universe films "Gods and Monsters," many comic book fans were wondering just how monstrous these producers would get, considering that their first order of business was a hard reboot of Warner Bros. Discovery's stable of superheroes. Surely, the risks would be heavily managed, as WBD chief David Zaslav wasn't about to meddle in an area of filmmaking he did not understand (like all of it). Why, he'd look like a damn fool.

David Zaslav is currently on his way out at WBD, and, thus, may not be around to see Gunn and Safran introduce their first full-on monster when "Clayface" hits theaters on October 23, 2026. While it's too early to speculate as to the quality of the movie, it does have a hot director on board in James Watkins ("Speak No Evil") and a screenplay by Mike Flanagan and 1998 Academy Award nominee Hossein Amini ("The Wings of the Dove"). Predictably, many genre fans were disappointed when Flanagan dropped out of helming "Clayface," but teleportation technology simply isn't where it needs to be to accommodate the prolific director's schedule.

Speaking of teleportation, the first trailer for Watkins' "Clayface" has dropped, and it looks like he's delivered on the promise of a bloody R-rated horror movie set in Gotham City. Sounds like a stellar way to give hardcore comic book nerds the ultra-brutal Batman adventure they've always wanted, no? Forget it. This is not a backdoor debut for the DCU's Caped Crusader. As The Hollywood Reporter noted last year, "Clayface" is an anti-superhero riff on David Cronenberg's "The Fly." Does this mean we're going to see Matt Hagen/Clayface (Tom Rhys Harries) literally fall tragically to pieces à la Seth Brundle post-teleportation mishap?

Flanagan was initially inspired by the "Batman: The Animated Series" two-part episode "Feat of Clay." But removing Batman from the narrative has allowed Flanagan and Amini to write a body horror tale about Hagen, a handsome movie star whose career is derailed after he's disfigured via a botched medical procedure administered (maybe?) by Bioengineering upstart Dr. Caitlin Bates (Naomi Ackie), who also happens to be the actor's love interest. As in the comics, the experiment gives Hagan shapeshifting powers. What he winds up doing with these biologically bestowed gifts seems to be bad news.

Cronenberg's "The Fly" was very of its heartbreaking moment, working as an AIDS allegory that examined human deterioration on the most intimate level (it's basically a stage play). The skin-sloughing makeup effects from Chris Walas were hard for many viewers to stomach, but the impeccably made film was a huge box office hit. I love that the DCU braintrust is heading in the direction, with a film that sounds like it also incorporates elements of "The Substance" and "Darkman." The filmmakers have been upfront about "Clayface," so expect a Gotham City-bound revenge flick that drags the still young DCU into the flesh-melting muck.