CLAYFACE Featurette Sees James Gunn and Matt Reeves Explain Why Film Is Unlike Anything Else in the DCU
DC Studios is heading straight into R-rated body horror with Clayface, a movie that sounds far removed from the colorful superhero spectacle of Superman and Supergirl.
A new featurette for the upcoming film offers a closer look at that horror-driven approach, with James Gunn and Matt Reeves explaining why this particular corner of the DCU is playing by a very different set of rules.
Gunn makes it clear that Clayface isn't simply a superhero movie with a few horror elements thrown into the mix. The goal was to make an actual horror film built around one of DC's most disturbing villains.
“We’re making a true horror film,” Gunn explained in the preview. “This is a character who is loved by the fans, and we’ve had the opportunity to do something different.”
That freedom appears to be a major part of what DC Studios wants to accomplish with the movie. Rather than forcing every DCU project into the same style, Clayface is embracing the ugliness and tragedy that come with Matt Hagen's transformation.
Reeves, director of The Batman, explained that the film also finds humanity within all of that horror. “You are on that razor’s edge, digging into the darkness of this character, but also you have a kind of empathy for him. It’s a horror thriller, but it’s also a revenge story.”
That combination could make Clayface one of the more interesting experiments in Gunn and Peter Safran's DCU. This isn't a story about a hero learning how to save the world. It's about a man losing his identity and humanity as he becomes something monstrous.
Tom Rhys Harries, who plays Matt Hagen and Clayface, is particularly excited about the creative freedom DC Studios gave the filmmakers, saying: “What excites me is DC giving creatives license to take stories and run with them.”
That philosophy could help give the larger DCU some much-needed variety. If Superman can be an earnest superhero adventure while Clayface goes full R-rated body horror, the shared universe has room to explore radically different genres without making every movie feel like another variation of the same thing.
Clayface is directed by James Watkins from a story by Mike Flanagan, who co-wrote the screenplay with Hossein Amini. The official story follows: “Rising Hollywood star Matt Hagen descends into a horrifying revenge-filled monster when scientific ambition strips him of his identity and humanity.”
The featurette arrived as tickets for Clayface went on sale October 7, 2026. Clayface hits theaters October 23, 2026. DC clearly wants this movie to be a big hit.