DC's First Horror Film: Clayface Final Trailer Arrives
DC Studios has dropped the final trailer for Clayface, its first-ever horror film — and it leans hard into body horror territory. The film hits international cinemas on October 21, 2026, with a North American release following on October 23. At an R-rating for strong bloody violence, gore, language, nudity, and brief drug use, this is a deliberate departure from the studio's usual superhero playbook.
The setup
Welsh actor Tom Rhys Harries plays Matt Hagen, a rising Gotham actor whose face is violently disfigured during a criminal attack. He agrees to an experimental treatment from Dr. Caitlin Corr — and, predictably, things go very wrong. The trailer keeps Clayface's actual appearance hidden, though one character notes he can alter his form entirely. DC is holding that reveal for the cinema.
The film is directed by James Watkins, the British filmmaker behind the 2024 remake Speak No Evil, and written by Mike Flanagan) (The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass) alongside Hossein Amini. That pairing signals genuine horror craft rather than a superhero film with a spooky coat of paint.
British bones
Production shot in Liverpool — standing in for Gotham — and at Leavesden Studios outside London. Watkins and Harries are both British, giving the film a strong domestic pedigree. The supporting cast includes Naomi Ackie as Dr. Corr, David Dencik, Max Minghella, Eddie Marsan, Nancy Carroll, and Joshua James.
The $40 million budget is modest by DC standards — closer to a prestige horror production than a blockbuster — which fits the film's tone. DC plans to make a film about Clayface, one of Batman's first enemies with the ability to transform since late 2024, and Watkins was attached early in 2025.
Separate universe
Clayface sits inside James Gunn and Peter Safran's DCU Chapter One — not Matt Reeves' Batman universe. DC has long argued that Clayface's transformation story is uniquely suited to horror, more so than the Joker or the Penguin. The final trailer suggests they've committed to that argument fully. The film was originally scheduled for September 11 before being pushed to late October — a Halloween-season slot that suits the material far better.
