DC Studios unleashed the first teaser trailer for Clayface yesterday, and James Gunn has taken to Threads to make one thing perfectly clear: Clayface is a horror movie.
Don’t expect a hybrid movie that’s primarily a superhero movie with horror elements. James Gunn promises that the film is unequivocally a full-on, straight up horror movie.
In other words, this ain’t something like Morbius…
Gunn explains, “From the start we’ve been clear the DCU would be interconnected but each project would be full expressions of their writers & directors (similar to how DC Comics work). The film or show will play in whatever genre suits the story best. Clayface is not a ‘hybrid superhero horror film,’ it is a horror film.”
In a series of responses on Threads this week, Gunn has also clarified that Clayface does take place in the same universe as his Superman movie, but is it set before or after that film?
“Before,” Gunn notes. “It’s the first DCU film out of chronological order.”
Gunn explains in another Threads response, “[Clayface is] very connected [to the DC cinematic universe], but as always the standalone story is what’s most important.”
Clayface will release only in theaters on October 23, 2026.
Tom Rhys Harries stars as Clayface.
Described as DC Studios’ first-ever foray into the genre, Clayface unravels one man’s horrifying descent from rising Hollywood star to revenge-filled monster in a story that explores the loss of one’s identity and humanity, corrosive love, and the dark underbelly of scientific ambition.
James Watkins (The Woman in Black, Speak No Evil) directs from a script by Mike Flanagan (“The Haunting of Hill House,” Doctor Sleep) and Hossein Amini (Drive).
