Spirit Lantern

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

After expressing interest in a Clayface film both publicly and to DC Films for their DC Extended Universe (DCEU) franchise, Flanagan pitched the project to the newly formed DC Studios in March 2023. The film and Flanagan's involvement were confirmed in December 2024 as part of the DCU, the successor to the DCEU. Flanagan was unable to direct the film due to scheduling issues. Watkins was hired in February 2025, Amini was rewriting the script by May, and Rhys Harries was cast in June. Additional casting took place in the following months. Filming lasted from the end of August until the start of November 2025, taking place on location throughout Liverpool and on soundstages at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden in England. Clayface is scheduled to be released by Warner Bros. Pictures in the United States on October 23, 2026. It will be part of the DCU's Chapter One: Gods and Monsters.

In Their Own Story

After having been brutally disfigured, a rising movie star named Matt Hagen volunteers as a test subject to restore his original face but experiences a series of horrifying side-effects that transforms his body into living clay.

Reader's Guide

In January 2021, filmmaker Mike Flanagan publicly expressed interest in making a standalone film focused on the DC Comics character Clayface. A fan of the character's portrayal in the Batman: The Animated Series two-part episode 'Feat of Clay' (1992), in which he was voiced by Ron Perlman, Flanagan wanted the project to be a horror film that was also a thriller and a tragedy. He previously discussed making a 'horror-leaning' Clayface film for the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) franchise in a general meeting with DC Films producer Jon Berg. Flanagan felt the meeting 'kind of went nowhere', and said DC did not 'bite on' his idea, but he was ready to commit to the project at any time. In March 2023, Flanagan and his Intrepid Pictures partner Trevor Macy met with Gunn and Safran to pitch a Clayface film in which the character would not be portrayed as a villain like he is in the comics. At that time, the character was expected to appear in Reeves's The Batman: Part II (2027) but Flanagan did not pitch his project as being connected to Reeves's films. DC Studios officially greenlit Clayface in December 2024, as part of the DCU. Gunn explained that he had not planned to make a film about Clayface, but was won over by Flanagan's pitch and subsequent script drafts. Filming was expected to begin in early 2025 and the studio was searching for a different director due to Flanagan's commitments to the 2027 film The Exorcist: Martyrs and a Carrie miniseries. Several days after the greenlight was revealed, the studio scheduled the film for release on September 11, 2026. Gunn, Safran, and Reeves were confirmed to be producing alongside Lynn Harris of Reeves's company 6th & Idaho Motion Picture Company. The film was intended to be produced on a 'stripped down' budget of around $40 million. Safran said the film would not have a campy tone and instead compared it to the horror film The Fly (1986).

Did You Know?

• Mike Flanagan first publicly expressed interest in a Clayface film in January 2021, inspired by the Batman: The Animated Series two-part episode 'Feat of Clay' (1992).
• The film is intended to be produced on a 'stripped down' budget of around $40 million.
• Safran compared the film's tone to the horror film The Fly (1986), saying it would not have a campy tone.
• Filming took place from the end of August until the start of November 2025, on location throughout Liverpool and on soundstages at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden in England.
• The film is scheduled to be released by Warner Bros. Pictures in the United States on October 23, 2026.