As we first told you a little earlier today, spoilers for Clayface have started doing the rounds online following recent fan screenings. We've already gotten into the Batman of it all, but does the comic-accurate Clayface—last seen in the DCU in Creature Commandos—show up?
Well, yes, but like John Stewart in the Lanterns finale, all signs point to Matt Hagen receiving the Surf Dracula treatment during this standalone tale set in the same world as Superman and Peacemaker.
According to this leak, the movie ends with Matt and his love interest embracing, only for the camera to zoom out and reveal she's a figment of his imagination created by his clay form and that they're connected at the legs. It sounds like the actor is imagining what his life could have been like, and with that, he fully transforms into his classic monster form.
It's said that Clayface "kinda" looks like the version from Batman: The Animated Series, and that he has 60 seconds of screen time ("and that's being generous"). The movie ends with this monstrous Matt hiding in Gotham's sewers, and "The face has a wide, toothy mouth like in the cartoon, but one half of the face still resembles Matt’s more human features. Kinda looks like The Thing in a way."
Clayface is reportedly fairly light on shapeshifting scenes, while the movie's lower budget means the VFX isn't the best (the CGI used for the face swaps is compared to the Chameleon's final scene in Kraven the Hunter).
While this fan was disappointed that the big Clayface reveal doesn't come until the very last minute, they did rate the movie a 7/10 overall.
It seems DC Studios has made the same mistake as Sony Pictures by making a villain-led movie where the titular big bad doesn't show up until the very end. That begs the question: for classic Clayface, should fans bank on a sequel or just seek out Creature Commandos? Either way, this is clearly yet another bad guy origin story, for better or worse.
In Clayface, Matt Hagen’s meteoric rise from Gotham street kid to Hollywood leading man is tragically cut short when a local crime boss’s actions leave him horribly disfigured. Abandoned by his team and with nothing left, Matt seeks out a cutting-edge treatment that miraculously returns him to his former self, but also unexpectedly affects his grip on reality, spiralling him down a destructive path of all-consuming revenge.
The movie stars Tom Rhys Harries in the title role of the cult-favourite villain from Gotham's rogues' gallery. The cast includes Naomi Ackie, David Dencik, Max Minghella and Eddie Marsan, as well as Nancy Carroll and Joshua James.
James Watkins directs from a screenplay by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, with Flanagan also getting a "Story by" credit. Clayface is produced by Matt Reeves, Lynn Harris, James Gunn and Peter Safran, with Michael E. Uslan, Chantal Nong Vo, Lars P. Winther, Rafi Crohn and Paul Ritchie executive producing.
Watkins' creative team includes director of photography Rob Hardy, production designer James Price, editor Jon Harris and costume designer Keith Madden. Volker Bertelmann (Conclave) is the movie's composer.
Clayface will be released in theaters on October 23.