Warner Bros. Shares First “Chilling” ‘Clayface’ Footage at CinemaCon
James Gunn has long been rooted in horror, and now that he’s in charge of the DC Universe, he’s not forgetting where he came from.
Warner Bros. took the CinemaCon stage this evening in Las Vegas, where they revealed the very first footage from Clayface…and it sounds like we’re getting the dark comic book film we’re hoping for. The film is an adaptation of the DC supervillain that is being brought to life by James Watkins (The Woman in Black, Speak No Evil) from a screenplay by horror maestro Mike Flanagan (The Exorcist, The Haunting of Hill House, Doctor Sleep) and Hossein Amini (Drive).
Tom Rhys Harries will be playing Clayface.
Here’s what DiscussingFilm had to say about the first footage: “The first teaser for Clayface shows Matt Hagen disfigured in hospital spliced with shots of Gotham City. The footage ends with his face falling off in the bathtub.”
Added the outlet, “Clayface is called a ‘riveting horror thriller’. The film looks to be similar to “Feat of Clay” from ‘Batman: The Animated Series’ spliced with a more brutal horror tone.
THR reports a similar description, stating, “The chilling footage, which did not include any dialogue, opens with a seemingly disfigured man with bloodied bandages covering his face. A montage of moments flashes back to show what led to this moment. The final scene features the titular character, played by Tom Rhys Harries, using his hand to wipe his face clean and reveal a completely blank look.”
Deadline gives a few additional details, noting, “In the trailer, we see a highly disfigured character with red eyes lying in a hospital bed. This is clearly a version of our lead character, played by Welsh actor Tom Rhys Harries, whom we cut to in various stages of mutilation, pre- and post- some kind of traumatic event. Elsewhere, we see the character wearing a mask, seemingly molting, and with a face he can distort like putty.”
That all sure sounds like a promising start! Knowing Gunn’s fearlessness for dark and weird plus the talent involved, all signs point to the filmmakers delivering a gruesome take on Clayface.
The project is compared to David Cronenberg’s The Fly and focuses on a B-movie actor who drinks a substance meant to boost his career, only to be left entirely made of clay. Think Death Becomes Her with fewer jokes, says Variety.
Max Minghella (Spiral: From the Book of Saw) and Naomi Ackie (Blink Twice) also star.
Warner Bros.’ DC comic book adaptation Clayface was announced as a straight-up body-horror film and was targeting a September 11 release – a slot Warner Bros. has historically used to good effect, particularly in the early September horror corridor, with hits like It (2017), It Chapter Two (2019), and The Nun (2018) all opening in the first half of the month.
In a surprise move, the studio recently shifted the film to October 23, 2026, right in the heart of the Halloween season. It’s a bold statement at a time when many films are labeled horror but fail to follow through. This one reads as a promise.
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