Director James Watkins is set to helm the R-rated horror film Clayface, which is slated for a 2026 release. The project explores the origins of the shapeshifting villain within a decaying version of Gotham City.
The 1980s street photography aesthetic of Gotham
James Watkins is looking to move away from polished superhero aesthetics by embracing a raw, urban decay. According to the report, the director is drawing significant visual inspiration from 1980s and 1990s street photography, specifically citing the documentary Everybody Street. This approach aims to capture a version of Gotham City that feels menacing and eccentric, utilizing richly saturated colors to depict a metropolis filled with litter and crumbling infrastructure.
The production design intends for the city to feel like a series of overwhelming canyons, creating a sense of corruption that exists independently of any single hero. By focusing on this "bawdy glamor," Watkins hopes to build a city that feels alive and decaying,providing a textured backdrop for the supernatural elements to follow.
Matt Hagen’s descent from rising star to monster
The film will center on the tragic transformation of Matt Hagen, a character who begins as a promising talent before becoming the monstrous entity known as Clayface. Tom Rhys Harries has been cast to portray this first live-action iteration of the characer. As Watkins shared in an interview with SFX Magazine, the story will blend the visceral elements of a "creature feature" with the darker, supernatural themes that are becoming a hallmark of the DC Universe.
By focusing on an R-rated horror lens, the production aims to show the psychological and physical evolution of a "rising star" into an iconic, terrifying monster. This character-driven approach allows the film to explore the hulking, shapeshifting nature of the villain through a more intimate, grounded perspective than a traditional superhero blockbuster.
A prequel to the Creature Commandos timeline
The Clayface narrative is strategically placed within the larger "Gods and Monsters" saga being constructed by DC Studios. The film is set to take place before the events of the first season of the Creature Commandos series on HBO Max. This placement suggests that while the Batman vigilante is already active within the timeline, his presence will remain a shadow over the city rather than a central focus.
DC Studios President Tom Gunn has indicated that the "Guardians of the DCU" already exist, meaning this film is one piece of a much larger , interconnected tapestry of legacy and myth.. The rollout of this saga is expected to continue through the autumn of 2026, using films like Clayface to weave narrative threads together before the major heroes arrive.
Who will eventually step into the Batman cowl?
While the film establishes the atmosphere of Gotham, several critical pieces of the DCU puzzle remain unconfirmed. Most notably, DC Studios has not yet announced which actor will officially portray Batman in future theatrical productions. Although the character has made subtle appearances in animated projects like Creature Commandos, the live-action identity of the Caped Crusader remains the most significant unanswered question for fans.
Additionally, while the film promises a deep dive into the villain's psyche, the exact extent to which other established DCU characters will interact with this specific horror-centric story remains unverified. Fans are left to wonder how much of the broader mythology will be teased through the lens of a monster's origin story.
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