DC Studios pulled off something special with Superman last summer, and James Gunn's fledgling universe now carries real momentum heading into what is looking like its busiest year yet. In 2026, the studio will deliver two theatrical films: Supergirl, arriving June 26, and the R-rated body-horror project Clayface, now set for October 23. These two releases are super important for the DCU; they need to work, both commercially and creatively, to build on Superman's success.
But before we can judge the films, we need to see them. That means trailers, and Clayface in particular, remain something of a mystery. October is far away, and fans dying to see the iconic Batman villain in action are itching for a glimpse of the film. If you're one of such people, don’t fret, there might be good news. A new report from industry insider Cryptic4KQual on X indicates that a Clayface trailer could be on the horizon. According to them, they "Heard Clayface trailer is eyeing an April/May release."
Directed by James Watkins, the film stars Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen, an actor whose face is disfigured and who turns to a fringe scientist, played by Naomi Ackie, for a radical solution. Principal photography wrapped in Liverpool around October 2025, meaning the film is now deep in post-production.
Warner Bros. releases Mortal Kombat II on May 8. The Karl Urban-fronted sequel arrives on Mother's Day weekend and is already one of the studio's biggest bets of the spring, carrying the kind of built-in audience and franchise vibe that studios love to use as a marketing platform nowadays. It isn’t far-fetched to think that this is the kind of event Warner Bros. would attach a Clayface trailer to.
Studios routinely pair their upcoming tentpoles with current releases that share a similar audience. Both Mortal Kombat II and Clayface are Warner Bros. properties with genre-heavy demographics. The action-fantasy crowd filling seats for Shao Kahn and Johnny Cage on opening weekend is the ideal audience to unveil a teaser for a dark, R-rated Batman villain origin story.
What To Expect From Clayface’s Teaser
When the teaser for Clayface does arrive, it is naturally expected to set a horror tone. Watkins did an amazing job on Speak No Evil, a film defined by creeping dread and body violation. Also, there's Mike Flanagan's script, which draws on the Batman: The Animated Series two-part episode "Feat of Clay," a story that evokes transformation horror. So, the trailer should lean into that and give us a feel of the monstrosity arriving in theaters in October.
Horror teasers often protect the monster, at least at first. The first footage from Clayface could lean into Matt Hagen's descent before showing audiences what he becomes. The teaser could start slowly and later introduce imagery that suggests something is deeply wrong before you can name exactly what it is.
If DC Studios plays this right, the teaser ends on one deeply unsettling image: a hand that shouldn't bend the way it's bending, a face that doesn't look quite like a face anymore, and cuts to black before audiences see too much. The question is how much of Clayface's form DC is willing to reveal. Set photos already shown Harries with bandages across his head. The trailer is likely to divulge more details on what happened to him.
Geraldo Amartey is a writer at The Direct. He joined the team in 2025, bringing with him four years of experience covering entertainment news, pop culture, and fan-favorite franchises for sites like YEN, Briefly and Tuko.
