DC Studios’ highly anticipated upcoming superhero horror movie Clayface has finally had plot details revealed, and it sounds like the body-horror will surely put the ‘monster’ in James Gunn’s DCU Chapter One: Gods and Monsters.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the movie "centers on an ascending actor whose face is disfigured by a gangster. As a last resort, the actor turns to a fringe Elizabeth Holmes-style scientist for help. At first, the experiment is a success, but … well, it wouldn’t be a horror movie if the story ended right there, would it?"
Now, that description dosent line up with any particular incarnation of the villain, but mixes a few. The first Clayface, Basil Karlo, was an actor but was disfigured by a car crash. The second, Matthew Hagen, turned into the villain when the molecular structure of his body was accidentally changed into clay. Later incarnations, Preston Payne, Sondra Fuller, Cassius Payne, and Peter Malley, were all turned into the monster via scientific experiments.
However, the Clayface movie’s description does seem to line up with how the monster is presented in the DCU animated show Creature Commandos. The series introduces Clayface as Matt Hagan, a former actor turned monstrous metahuman. In Creature Commandos, Clayface uses his shapeshifting abilities to pose as Professor Aisla MacPherson and trick the group, but the villain was later defeated by Rick Flag, Sr., and Eric Frankenstein.
As well as revealing some pretty interesting plot details, THR also reported that Mickey 17 and Blink Twice star Naomi Ackie is being eyed to play the female lead in the upcoming movie. Maybe the Elizabeth Holmes-style scientist mentioned in the synopsis? If cast, Ackie will join Tom Rhys Harries, who is playing the titular supervillain.
The Clayface movie is written by The Haunting of Hill House creator Mike Flanagan, with Speak No Evil’s James Watkins set to direct.
Clayface is set to hit screens on September 11, 2026. For more, see our guide on how to watch DC movies in order, or keep up with upcoming DC movies and shows.
