Full Clayface trailer stops short of showing us the whole bloody mess

The new trailer gives a taste of the shapeshifting face of Matt Hagen, but the whole thing will be in theaters on October 23.

By Drew Gillis  |  July 22, 2026 | 12:26pm
Image courtesy of Warner Bros.
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Full Clayface trailer stops short of showing us the whole bloody mess

Matt Hagen, the human alter-ego of the villainous Clayface, has perhaps the most terrifying background of any comic book villain: He’s an actor. We kid, we kid, but the full trailer for Clayface, which DC released this morning ahead of the start of San Diego Comic-Con, is legitimately stomach-turning. Not only does Matt’s (played here by Tom Rhys Harries) face melt, but his eyes melt shut, leading to a truly horrifying situation in an airplane bathroom. 

To make matters worse, this sounds like it’s not even close to the extent of Matt’s terrifying transformation. “You don’t want to show the shark,” says director James Watkins in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, likening Clayface‘s marketing to that of Jaws. According to the director, we won’t see Matt’s full transformation into Clayface until we’re seated in the cinema. “I think people give away too much,” Watkins explains. “I believe in the power of mystery and the power of suggestion and the power of people putting two and two together. I think it’s more fun.” However, it sounds like we’re still going to see quite a bit; DC co-chair Peter Safran compares Clayface to “the true body horror of a Cronenberg-type movie.” 

Rhys Harries stars opposite Naomi Ackie, who also features prominently in the trailer. Clayface hits theaters on October 23. 

 
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