DC Studios officially revealed fresh looks at the DCU's Clayface movie, generating more hype for the live-action debut of the Batman villain. One of the biggest swings in James Gunn and Peter Safran's DCU is the inclusion of Clayface as a mid-budget, R-rated body-horror Batman villain spinoff in Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters. The film, which is set for release on October 23, is pulling back the curtain on how Tom Rhys Harries' Matt Hagen transformed into the terrifying titular Batman villain that made a huge impact in Creature Commandos Season 1. The official trailers for Clayface showcased a glimpse of Hagen's tragic origin story, the first live-action look at the DCU's Gotham, and a plethora of Easter eggs that expand the DC reboot. As the film's release inches closer, more images have emerged online.
DC Comics revealed a new look at DC Studios' Clayface with Frank Cho's variant cover for Clayface: Celebrity Dirt # 4. The black-and-white cover reveals a poster of Matt Hagen, billed as the "new face of Hollywood," while the real Hagen (now slowly transforming into his Clayface form) dissolves into slime.
This variant cover of the Batman villain provides notable foreshadowing for Hagen's journey in Clayface, splitting the character into two: his past self, beloved by many, and his present self, isolated from the rest of the world because of his terrifying nature.
Another Clayface variant cover for Batman #14, created by Jim Lee, was also revealed by DC Comics.
The artwork showed Matt Hagen transforming into Clayface in real time, in what appears to be a movie premiere, and a shocked crowd looked terrified. Behind Hagen is an Imperial Pictures sign, a reference to the Gotham movie studio from Batman: The Animated Series, where Matt Hagen of that universe made many of his movies before becoming a villain.
There were two other variant comic book covers for Clayface that were released in July 2026. Batman & Robin: Year One #3's Clayface variant cover, illustrated by Brian Bolland, showcased a hooded Matt Hagen, his body slowly dripping as he transforms into his monstrous form.
The second variant cover from Detective Comics #1114 by Björn Barends offers an unsettling look at Matt Hagen's slow-burning transformation into Clayface, revealing the true extent of the price he paid for agreeing to take on illegal experimentation to "fix" him.
Clayface's trailers have been cutting away from the extent of Hagen's transformation, but this variant cover is more than willing to show the consequences of the former actor's decision. The notable part of this variant cover is that his body no longer conforms to a human outline, serving as another major tease of how his final look will be unveiled in the 2026 DCU movie.
Why Hiding Clayface's Final Form In Marketing Is a Brilliant Move
DC Studios deliberately chose to hide Matt Hagen's final form in posters and trailers until the movie's release. Although Creature Commandos already showed Batman villain's final form, this is a brilliant decision because the live-action version is poised to look scarier and more terrifying than its animated counterpart.
There is also a deeper meaning behind Clayface's strategy of hiding the final form. The film is about a man whose value was his face, and marketing refuses to replace that face with a monstrous form better suited to the finished product. It's worth noting that the campaign is betting that the journey is more compelling than the final transformation.
As an R-rated horror movie under the DC Studios umbrella, Clayface is built around a big reveal in the latter part of the movie, with the monstrous transformation as the selling point and one of the reasons casual viewers (and horror fans) want to see the film.
