First trailer for DC’s R-rated Clayface horror movie released

Well before Batman makes his first appearance in James Gunn’s new DCU, one of the Caped Crusader’s most iconic villains will get a stand-alone movie of his own. On Wednesday, Warner Bros. and DC Studios offered a first look at Clayface, the R-rated body-horror movie based on the shape-shifting character who will definitely pay off the “monster” half of the DCU’s Chapter One: Gods and Monsters promise.

The first Clayface trailer is a minute-long tease of the film, showing actor Matt Hagen (played by Tom Rhys Harries) recovering in a hospital bed after having his face forcefully disfigured, seemingly as retribution. Hagen reflects on happier times in flashbacks that show him at his handsomest, enjoying fame as a movie star at a film premiere in Gotham City. We also see hints of his recovery, and the Silly Putty-like material that promises to restore his good looks. In one brief shot, we see the final monstrous form of Clayface, but only in shadow. The character is shown turning his arm into a spiked mace and raining down blows on an unidentified person.

The tone is grim, but enticing, and unlike anything we’ve seen from Gunn’s rebooted DC film universe to date.

Tom Rhys Harries stars as Matt Hagen, the human alter ego of Clayface, in DC Studios’ Clayface. Also starring are Naomi Ackie, David Dencik, Max Minghella, Eddie Marsan, Nancy Carroll, and Joshua James. The film is directed by James Watkins (Speak No Evil) and based on a screenplay by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini.

Prior to the reveal of Clayface’s first trailer, DC Studios’ James Gunn revealed the movie’s first gruesome poster, which you can enjoy(?) below.

The villain Clayface debuted in the pages of Detective Comics #40 in 1940. The character was envisioned as a B-list horror movie actor named Basil Karlo, who transitioned from acting to a life of crime, adopting the Clayface moniker based on one of his onscreen roles. For many Batman fans, though, the most memorable version of Clayface may be his appearance in Batman: The Animated Series‘ two-part “Feat of Clay” story. That version of the villain was a man named Matt Hagen, also an actor, who relied on an addictive face cream to restore his former good looks — until he was violently force-fed the chemical-laden cream, turning him into the monstrous Clayface.

Clayface premieres in movie theaters on Oct. 23. It’s the second DCU movie due this year, with Supergirl set to touch down in theaters in June.