After Superman and Supergirl, the DC Universe is going in a much different direction with Clayface. The body horror movie is coming to theaters this October, and is shifting the newly launched superhero universe away from the heroics and into a truly disgusting villain origin story. The first teaser we got earlier this year was pretty gross, but the latest trailer starts getting even more details, with some scenes that already make my skin crawl.
Clayface stars The Gentlemen actor Tom Rhys Harries as its titular villain, who is disfigured by local criminals just as his acting career has hit its prime. In an effort to reclaim his Hollywood good looks, he seeks help from a scientist who turns his body into clay, and while it all seems to work in his favor at first, the guy’s face melts into itself and doesn’t maintain its perfect shape. As this takes a mental toll on him, Clayface tries to come up with quick fixes for his melting skin, including, in one scene, seemingly taking a pair of scissors to his amorphous eyelid so he can see. Meanwhile, I, safely on the other side of the screen, shut my laptop closed and take a lap around the neighborhood.
While Superman and Supergirl were pretty understandable starting points for a new DC cinematic universe, Clayface is definitely a more obscure pick from studio head James Gunn. The Marvel Cinematic Universe had to get a lot more runway in front of it before it started doing more experimental genre films, but I guess with the film launching close to Halloween on October 23, even non-comic book fans might be in the mood for an unsettling visit to Gotham. Supergirl hasn’t soared at the box office, but DC plans to return to Superman with sequel Man of Tomorrow in 2027 before it releases movies that expand out to other parts of the universe. Before any of these movies come out, the upcoming Lanterns show on HBO will bring Hal Jordan and John Stewart into the fold.
