Published Apr 22, 2026, 2:58 PM EDT
Felipe Rangel is a Movie and TV Journalist ScreenRant. He has been writing about movies and TV since 2021. Felipe joined ScreenRant in 2022, working across different teams, covering everything from breaking news to features to reviews and more.
Felipe is a writer who is an avid film and TV fan, with superhero movies and series being his biggest passion. He graduated from college in 2019, having studied Journalism. Before college, he spent a month studying at the Oxford English Centre. His superhero knowledge expands to the comics, with his undergraduate thesis being "Politics Reflected In American Comics."
DC has officially released the trailer for its upcoming R-rated villain movie, and it is the perfect teaser for what is to come from Batman's side of the franchise. The Dark Knight is DC's most popular hero. Sure, Superman is instantly recognizable, and David Corenswet did a phenomenal job as the Man of Steel in the first movie of James Gunn's DC Universe.
That said, when it comes to live-action DC movies, Batman reigns supreme. Interest is through the roof to see who replaces Ben Affleck as the Batman of a new shared universe, with popular candidates emerging in fan circles, such as Jensen Ackles, Glen Powell, Brandon Sklenar, Paul Anthony Kelly, and more. Batman is expected to make his DCU debut in the announced The Brave and the Bold movie, which also introduces Damian Wayne as Robin.
Until that project comes, DC is treating fans with a few different looks at the franchise's version of Gotham City. That first came through the TV-MA Creature Commandos, as the animated series saw Batman make a non-speaking cameo to arrest Doctor Phosphorus. Starting the DCU with a mature release was very much on-brand for Gunn, and the franchise's second foray into Gotham, and its biggest thus far, follows a similar pattern.
On October 23, Clayface, an R-rated movie focusing on the Batman villain, will arrive in theaters. Before that, DC has just released the first trailer for Clayface, showing the transformation that Tom Rhys Harries' Matt Hagen undergoes. Clayface is going to be a very different kind of DC movie, but, judging from the footage, it is exactly what Batman fans have been waiting for.
DC's First Clayface Trailer Mixes Realism With Fantastical Elements
DC's first Clayface trailer focuses on the tragedy of Matt Hagen, who, after being attacked by a criminal with a knife, gets injected with chemicals that subsequently transform him into the Batman villain Clayface. Both in DC Comics and adaptations, there have been wildly different versions of Clayface. At times, the character has been depicted as a giant clay monster. On the other hand, Clayface has also appeared as a masked killer.
The Clayface movie finds a way to mix both, as shown by the trailer, and it is the best route it could have taken. This is a true villain movie that appears to be both gritty and grounded in deep emotion, as well as not being afraid to dabble with fantastical elements, as seen by Clayface's face melting and him forming a spiked hand in the DCU movie trailer.
Why DC Is Making The Right Choice With Its Batman Villain Movie
Image via Max
Batman has had several grounded movies, with Robert Pattinson's The Batman — Part II set to continue that in 2027. As such, it is for the best that the DCU's first big foray into Gotham City is with a Batman villain that allows the franchise to do something fresh. The too-grounded approach has been done to death, and the cartoonish path would take away from the dramatic elements that relate to Matt Hagen's fall from grace and transformation into a shape-shifting monster.
The first Clayface movie trailer picks the middle ground and, in doing so, it is laying down the foundation for Batman's The Brave and the Bold movie. With Pattinson's Dark Knight set to continue in theaters until his trilogy is finished, the DCU version of the Dark Knight will have to be strikingly different from his to allow the audience to differentiate between the two and feel excited about both.
Clayface is showing that a DC movie can be both grounded and fantastical. Its trailer also proves it will be the first true horror release from Gunn's DCU, with body-horror elements set to make Clayface a haunting experience for many. After Clayface's first trailer, it is easy to see that the Batman corner of the DCU is starting on a high note.
Release Date October 23, 2026
Director James Watkins
English (US) ·