DC Studios Unveils New Clayface Poster Ahead of October Release

DC Studios has spent the past couple of years steadily building out its rebooted cinematic universe, mixing superhero spectacle with genre experiments that push beyond the usual tentpole formula. Its latest release marks the studio’s first full dive into horror territory, a genuine departure for a franchise built largely around capes and cosmic threats.

That departure centers on Clayface, one of Batman’s more tragic Gotham City villains, reimagined here as a body horror thriller rather than a straightforward action film. The story follows Matt Hagen, a rising Hollywood star whose life is upended after a brutal disfigurement leaves him volunteering as a test subject for an experimental treatment meant to restore his original face, only for the process to trigger a horrifying transformation into living clay.

DC Studios has now released a striking new poster to promote the film, carrying the tagline “Look Fear in the Face” alongside confirmation that the film opens in theaters October 23. The image splits a human face down the center, one half rendered in ordinary detail and the other consumed by a mass of dripping red clay that cascades down into a shadowy figure looming over a city skyline below.

That visual, half man and half monster, captures the film’s central conceit at a glance, reinforcing the identity-loss horror at the heart of Matt Hagen’s transformation. It’s a notably unsettling piece of marketing for a DC release, leaning fully into body horror imagery rather than softening the character’s more grotesque comic book roots.

Tom Rhys Harries stars in the title role, leading a cast that includes Naomi Ackie, David Dencik, Max Minghella, Eddie Marsan, Nancy Carroll, and Joshua James. Behind the camera, James Watkins directs from a screenplay by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, based on a story by Flanagan, drawing character inspiration from DC Comics’ long history with the Clayface mythology.

The film carries serious producing weight as well, with Matt Reeves, Lynn Harris, James Gunn, and Peter Safran all attached, alongside executive producers Michael E. Uslan, Rafi Crohn, Paul Ritchie, Chantal Nong Vo, and Lars P. Winther. That level of involvement from Gunn and Safran, who oversee DC Studios’ broader creative direction, signals just how central this genre pivot is to the studio’s overall strategy.

Production on Clayface ran from late August through early November of last year, shooting on location throughout Liverpool and on soundstages at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden in England. The film’s story is said to draw inspiration from “Feat of Clay,” a memorable Matt Hagen-centered arc from ‘Batman: The Animated Series,’ giving the project a direct link back to one of the character’s most acclaimed animated appearances.

Clayface previously carried a September release date before shifting to its current October slot, positioning it as part of the fall horror lineup rather than competing directly with the busier summer blockbuster season. As the sixth installment in DC Studios’ Chapter One: Gods and Monsters saga, the film represents a genuine tonal experiment for the studio, betting that audiences are ready to see the DC Universe explore darker, more psychologically unsettling territory alongside its more traditional superhero output.

Meet the new face of Gotham. #ClayfaceMovie only in theaters October 23. pic.twitter.com/OAPjFE22aF
— Clayface Movie (@ClayfaceMovieDC) July 22, 2026

With the new poster reinforcing just how committed the marketing has been to embracing horror imagery outright, Clayface looks set to stand apart from anything DC Studios has released so far under Gunn and Safran’s leadership. It also arrives alongside a run of other major DC projects rolling out over the coming years, including ‘Supergirl,’ the ‘Superman’ sequel ‘Man of Tomorrow,’ and Matt Reeves’ ‘The Batman: Part II,’ each representing a different corner of the studio’s expanding slate.