Full story
About Clayface
Clayface lands in theaters on September 11, 2026 as one of the first Elseworlds projects under James Gunn and Peter Safran's DC Studios, reimagining the shape-shifting Batman rogue as the subject of a full-blown body-horror feature. James Watkins, fresh off the acclaimed 2024 remake of Speak No Evil, directs from a script by horror auteur Mike Flanagan, with additional writing from Hossein Amini. The film exists outside the main DCU continuity, giving the creative team room to lean into grotesque practical effects and psychological dread.
The story tracks a struggling actor whose exposure to an experimental substance triggers a horrifying transformation, blending tragedy with monster-movie spectacle in the spirit of The Fly or An American Werewolf in London. Tom Rhys Harries leads the cast, with Naomi Ackie and Eddie Marsan in supporting roles. DC Studios has framed Clayface as a mid-budget horror swing rather than a tentpole, echoing the strategy Warner Bros. used with Joker to carve out space for standalone, director-driven comic-book cinema.
Principal photography wrapped in London in late 2025, and the studio is leaning into the September release window to capitalize on pre-Halloween horror appetites. Watkins and Flanagan have emphasized practical makeup effects over CGI, working with creature designers to give Clayface a tactile, visceral presence. If successful, the project could validate Gunn's plan to use Elseworlds labels for riskier, genre-first takes on DC characters that would never fit inside a traditional superhero blockbuster structure.
Overview
Why this movies page exists
DC Studios' Clayface film, directed by James Watkins (Speak No Evil) from a Mike Flanagan script, is set for September 11, 2026 theatrical release.
Why it matters
Clayface is DC Studios' first true horror feature and a test case for whether Elseworlds-branded, director-driven comic adaptations can coexist with the main DCU slate.
The details
Key highlights
- Release
- Theatrical, September 11, 2026 (Warner Bros.)
- Director
- James Watkins (Speak No Evil, Eden Lake)
- Writer
- Mike Flanagan, with Hossein Amini
- Banner
- DC Elseworlds, outside the main DCU continuity
Reading the timer
How to use this movies countdown
Clayface sits inside the movies calendar as a superhero horror date that people are likely to check more than once. This page is meant to do more than show a raw countdown number: it keeps the tracked date, source quality, location context, and release confidence in one place so the page stays useful even when the final event details are still tightening.
Right now the key public signal is September 11, 2026, with confirmed status and date confirmed precision. That distinction matters. A confirmed datetime is very different from a month-level or date-only signal, and people planning watch parties, travel, ticketing, launch coverage, or newsroom publishing need that nuance instead of a misleadingly precise timer.
We are tracking Clayface from Deadline plus the official event source. For this page, that means the safest way to read the countdown is as a reference layer: use the timer for awareness, then use the source, precision, location, and event facts together before you commit to travel, viewing plans, promotional scheduling, or time-sensitive announcements.
The most practical reading of this countdown is: Clayface is being watched for a globally tracked release or event page, and the current page focus is the main superhero horror milestone rather than every surrounding rumor or speculative date. Format: Theatrical horror-superhero. Franchise: DC Universe.
Clayface should be treated like a film release page first and a countdown second. Movie dates can move by territory, premium-format rollout, or studio calendar strategy, so the details that matter are whether the page reflects a theatrical day, a broader release window, or a still-forming public slot. Current reference points include format: Theatrical horror-superhero, franchise: DC Universe, studio: DC Studios / Warner Bros.. Search intent also clusters around clayface, dc, batman, horror, which is why this page keeps the movie-specific context visible instead of relying on a generic timer shell.