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DC Studios Releases First Clayface Teaser, an R-Rated Body-Horror Turn

The low-cost Gotham thriller signals James Gunn’s push for genre experiments in the DCU.

Overview

  • Warner Bros. and DC Studios put the first Clayface teaser online Wednesday following last week’s CinemaCon preview, marking the public debut of the DCU’s villain-led horror film.
  • Footage frames Matt Hagen’s transformation as full-on body horror, teasing shapeshifting and unsettling practical effects without showing the final creature design.
  • Tom Rhys Harries leads as Hagen, with Naomi Ackie, Max Minghella, Eddie Marsan, and David Dencik in the cast under director James Watkins from a screenplay by Mike Flanagan with rewrites by Hossein Amini.
  • The studio set an October 23, 2026 theatrical release, and trades report a production budget near $40 million that positions the film as a lower-cost DCU entry.
  • Marketing has leaned into in‑universe worldbuilding with faux magazine clippings and a grim first poster, and the movie offers an early on-screen look at Gotham City in the new continuity without introducing Batman.