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A brand new Clayface trailer is out now, previewing more of the upcoming DCU movie. The new footage also proves exactly why DC’s big body horror swing is exactly what they should be doing.
DC Studios and Warner Bros. Pictures' Clayface will be released in United States theaters later this year. Co-written by Mike Flanagan, the film is directed by James Watkins and will see Tom Rhys Harries play the titular Batman villain.
The synopsis reads, "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."
The DCU should be taking even more creative risks
The latest footage for DC’s Clayface leans even more into the horror genre than the first one. We see more of the background of Matt Hagen (Rhys), an actor that has his face disfigured by mobsters and undergoes some experimental trials to try and fix it. While it does fix his face, Hagen slowly begins to spiral as the side effects of the trial take a shocking toll on his body and mind.
The new trailer doesn’t give away too much in the form of what Rhys will look like as the “real” Clayface we’re used to. However, just by the tone, it’s going to be completely unlike anything we’ve seen in the DCU so far, and that’s a great thing. To date, the DCU has existed more or less with just a handful of projects, two of which are related to the Superman universe and thus much more hopeful and cheery in tone.
On the flipside, Clayface represents a much different vibe. Besides the body horror elements, Clayface looks to tapping into some emotions and themes that the DCU hasn’t yet, and could stand to do. In a world where superhero films usually focus around the same formula, James Gunn and DC Studios are smart to try and approach the world of comics from a different angle. Some of the best comic book stories ever told deal with much darker subject matter, and as Clayface’s appearances in things like Batman: The Animated Series show, fans can relate to these themes if told right.
