All treats and no tricks today from DC Studios, with the first full-length trailer coming out for the upcoming horror movie Clayface, the third official DCU movie release from James Gunn and Peter Safran. With Tom Rhys Harries in the titular role, as well as that of actor Matt Hagen, this villainous venture looks like a great mix of body horror, Fugitive-esque police-dodging, and science gone wrong. Not your usual fare from a superhero studio, and I am obsessed.
Knowing Clayface’s place in the DCU timeline makes it easier to think about what Matt’s story will be, with Clayface’s arrival on Creature Commandos still in the character’s future. Although it’s hard to think about the future when the present is so horrifying for him. Speaking of, I gotta pinpoint the most squirm-worthy moment in the trailer right quick.
I'm Already Cringing From Matt Trying To Cut Through His Morphing Skin
This is the equivalent of any horror movie trailer moment where a blade or needle is being raised up to someone's eyeball. It's instant squirm city. This is fun twist on that, though, with the idea being that Matt is going to snip-snip-snip through the connective skin covering one of his eyes.
Theoretically, it might not hurt him at all, and the skin might just morph around the blades. But if that's not the case, then this scene could easily turn into a big bloody scream-fest. I'm hoping for the latter, obviously.
Will Clayface Give Us Fun Cameos From Club Vesuvius?
Several moments in Clayface's trailer are seemingly keyed up to be references to comic book characters and locations (or even writers, in the case of Len's Chicken, assuming that's a nod to Len Wein). But the most prominent reference to me is the night club Vesuvius.
It's not exactly as popular as Penguin's Iceberg Lounge or anything, but Club Vesuvius is a hot spot for certain characters known to lurk around Gotham City on occasion, and I'm hoping we get at least subtle nods to them in the movie.
One: Zatanna, who has been a regular attendee of said nightclub. It's probably too early to start bringing backwards-talking magic into the DCU, but if not, this is the best time to make audiences aware that she exists in this world.
Two: The owner of Vesuvius is two-bit criminal Johnny Sabatino, who is married to Peyton Riley, who took on the Ventriloquist mantle at one point. So if there's even a split second of a ventriloquist dummy or puppet somewhere in the vicinity, I'll be squealing with delight.
Clayface will join other 2026 movie releases when it hits theaters on October 23.
