Did The ‘Clayface’ Trailer Secretly Reveal His Final Face?
Warner Bros. dropped the official trailer for Clayface (2026), giving viewers a sneak peek at the body horror take on the Batman supervillain. In the film, Matt Hagen (Tom Rhys Harries) is an actor who finds himself disfigured after a gang attack. Desperate to get back the life he once lived, he agrees to undergo an experimental form of treatment. However, the treatment morphs him into something else entirely. The trailer demonstrates the genius of turning Clayface into a body horror movie, featuring disturbing shots of Hagen’s grisly transformation.
Although the trailer hints at Hagen’s transformation, it doesn’t feature the Clayface you’re familiar with. Comic book and DC animation fans know Clayface as the large, malleable, mud-like monster, but we expect DCU’s Clayface will make us wait until the theater to see its interpretation of his final form. If you watched the trailer closely, though, you may find a secret nod to his final face.
Is Clayface’s Final Face Hiding in the Trailer?
Clayface’s trailer doesn’t explicitly reveal Clayface’s final form, but it may just reveal the inspiration for it. At the 1:39 mark in the trailer, Hagen is at Gotham’s amusement park, Amusement Mile. Directly behind him is a ride labeled “Twisted Memories,” and the entrance looks strikingly similar to Clayface’s true face.
While it’s hard to see in the trailer, behind-the-scenes photos posted to Instagram by Merseyside Mentions give a clearer look at the ride. The photos show the transformation of New Brighton into the Amusement Mile, with the first photo in the collection featuring a close-up of Twisted Memories. Right below the Twisted Memories sign is a monstrous purple face with beady red eyes. In the trailer, at night, the face takes on a brownish, eerie hue as the monstrous silhouette overlooks the amusement park. Meanwhile, if you’re familiar with the comic book or Batman: The Animated Series (1992) depiction of Clayface, you’ll know that the Twisted Memories monster is the spitting image of Clayface. From the glowing red eyes to the uneven skin that appears like mounds of clay, the face reflects traditional depictions of Clayface.
There’s no confirmation that the Twisted Memories face is, indeed, Clayface’s final face in the Clayface movie. However, it’s not too far-fetched to imagine Clayface, as a shapeshifter, drawing inspiration from the amusement park ride for his final form. Based on the trailer, he ends up at the Amusement Mile while grappling with the effects of his experimental trial, and “Twisted Memories” certainly seems to reflect his mindset, making it fitting that this moment potentially foreshadows his final transformation.
Where to Watch Clayface’s Many Forms
A tease such as the “Twisted Memories” ride is likely the closest we’ll get to Clayface’s final form before Clayface premieres. Director James Watkins confirmed he’s saving the final revelation of Clayface’s most recognizable and iconic form for the theater. Until then, you can see Clayface’s final form and shapeshifting forms in several other movies and TV shows.
As mentioned above, Clayface appears in Batman: The Animated Series. The animated iteration of Clayface (Ron Perlman) is one of the most simplistic interpretations, depicting him as a mound of clay with beady eyes and teeth, most like the “Twisted Memories” monster. This version of the character also appears in the other DC Animated Universe shows, The New Batman Adventures (1997) and Justice League (2001).
The Batman (2004) offers a more unique interaction of Clayface (Steve Harris). Rather than the simple mound-of-clay appearance, The Batman features a thinner, grayer version of Clayface, who looks like a cross between a mummy and a clay monster. It’s not just his appearance that’s different in The Batman, but also his character arc, as the series depicts him as a police chief and former friend of Batman who actually puts effort into reforming himself from a villain into a hero.
For more unique iterations of Clayface, you can check out Suicide Squad Isekai (2024) and Gotham (2014). In Suicide Squad Isekai, Clayface (Jun Fukuyama) is an eccentric actor with shapeshifting abilities. While he can transform into the familiar clay-like monster, he most often chooses a man resembling Michael Jackson as his default form. Meanwhile, Gotham also shies away from the traditional monster appearance, featuring Clayface (Brian McManamon) as an undead man with grotesquely elastic skin and shapeshifting abilities.
However, perhaps the most insightful look into the character before Clayface is in his other DCU appearance. Clayface (Alan Tudyk) makes his DCU debut in the animated series Creature Commandos (2024). In the series, Rick Flag, Sr. (Frank Grillo) comes face-to-face with Clayface in his true form. It’s an interesting depiction of the character that resembles his clay-like comic book form, but is a little more detailed and grotesque. He’s more distorted and uneven, with bumps and boulders dotting his skin, swirls on his stomach, and a menacing, almost vulgar demeanor. James Gunn has confirmed the Clayface in the Creature Commandos is the same as that in the Clayface movie, meaning his final form will be similar to the animated one, though it will be exciting to see how it translates to live action.
