Clayface Ending Explained: How The DCU’s Latest Film Sets Up The Franchise’s Future

Warning: This article includes major spoilers for Clayface James Gunn’s DC universe is now officially in full swing, with Clayface laying the first foundations for the many movies to come. Even without any DC superheroes on hand, the new Batman-adjacent film offers a taste of what the future holds via the tragic story of Matt Hagen, set in the classic stomping grounds of the Caped Crusader himself. The movie is the third live-action project for the DCU in 2026 and the fourth overall. The franchise relaunched with last year’s Superman, which earned over $600 million at the worldwide box office and attained a very respectable 83% on Rotten Tomatoes (along with a 90% audience score). Despite that initial success, things haven't exactly been smooth sailing in the calendar year of 2026. The DCU’s second film, Supergirl, failed to launch at the box office, taking in just $126 million on a budget of $180 million. Reviews weren’t much better either, with the film earning a rotten score of 52% (although its audience score is slightly higher at 72%). The failure of Supergirl, combined with a controversial first season of Lanterns, means that there’s a lot riding on the next film in the DCU — Clayface. Directed by James Watkins, from a script by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, Clayface features the DCU’s first foray into Gotham City, but rather than focusing on Batman, the film chooses to highlight one of the hero’s most famous villains. Clayface follows Matt Hagen, an Academy Award-winning actor seemingly at the peak of his career. After celebrating his awards success, Hagen finds companionship with a woman who happens to be the partner of a major crime boss in Gotham, Markos Szabo. Szabo quickly discovers this infidelity and opts to cut up Hagen’s face, leaving him with deep wounds and scars. From there, Hagen then seeks any and all treatment, even if it’s not properly tested, in order to look like his old self again. It’s through these experiments that his alter ego of Clayface is slowly born, as Hagen falls deeper and deeper into villainy. All of this hits a head in an action-packed third act, and an ending that has major implications for the future of this Batman villain and the city of Gotham. Who Is Matt Hagen? Credit: MovieStillsDB The opening 15 minutes or so of Clayface gives audiences a pretty good idea of who Matt Hagen is. He’s seen acting in major film roles, preparing for takes on the makeshift Warner Bros. studio lot, and even appearing on a talk show. Early on, Hagen’s Academy Award nomination for Best Actor is also announced, to great reception by Hagen himself and the cast and crew of his new film. Therefore, audiences are led to believe that Hagen is one of the leading up-and-coming actors in this fictional DC world. He holds similarities with the likes of Timothee Chalamet and Jacob Elordi — actors who are relatively new to the industry, but have already made a name for themselves as some of the best performers working today. How Matt Hagen Gets His Scars, Explained Hagen’s celebrations after his Academy Award nomination are actually what ends up starting his downward spiral. The actor and his longtime best friend, Corey, go to a club to celebrate the success, and Hagen ends up meeting Theresa Lopes, the girlfriend of mob boss Markos Szabo. Corey warns his friend that getting involved with Lopes is a bad idea, but Hagen ignores his advice. The next morning, Hagen is in bed with Lopes, and is greeted by Szabo and several of his men. As revenge for Hagen’s actions, and knowing that he’s a famous actor, Szabo cuts his face in numerous places, leaving him bloodied and almost unrecognizable. This is a different origin story from the one that Clayface has in the comics, as the DCU once again takes creative liberties with its source material. What Does Hagen Do To Fix His Scars? Matt Hagen has several surgeries with a well-respected surgeon in an attempt to “fix” his face. Unfortunately, these procedures only make his injuries look more pronounced, which, in turn, makes Hagen even more ashamed about the way he looks. As a result, Hagen becomes desperate to return to how he looked before the attack. After trying and failing with numerous cosmetic procedures, Hagen opts to try an experimental treatment, one led by Caitlyn Corr (played by Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’s Naomi Ackie). Corr uses artificial intelligence in her treatment, deploying nano particles that act as an ever evolving healing device for the skin. Corr is years away from human trials, but is enticed by Matt’s willingness to become the first person to be tested on. The two begin working together and, at first, the results are promising. In fact, the results are so promising that Matt’s face returns to normal almost immediately. Because of this, he begins to re-enter the spotlight, attending the Gotham City premiere of a play that he was supposed to star in (before being replaced after the attack). However, while at the premiere, Matt begins to notice the negative side effects of the treatment. His face begins drooping, and he experiences intense pain, so much so that he’s forced to visit Caitlyn again. Eventually, Matt injects himself with an unhealthy dosage of the treatment in a desperate attempt to heal once and for all, which leads to the most dangerous of the side effects coming out. It’s from this unsafe dosage that Matt’s Clayface abilities are born. His body begins to act in strange ways, such as his skin sinking inwards. Matt also finds that he can change his face to look like anyone else, and at first, this ability is tied to his emotions in the moment. For example, if Matt is angry at his friend Corey, then his face would change to resemble Corey. Matt’s Revenge Against Szabo The final act of Clayface shows everything crashing down around Matt. He is cursed with abilities he, at first, is unable to control, and this leads to deadly consequences. Matt’s first kill in the film is his former business manager, played by Eddie Marsan, but Matt didn’t intend to murder him. This again sends him down a dark path, pushing him closer to becoming the DC villain that fans know and love. Matt’s killing only becomes more frequent, first taking out Corey for betraying him during the civil trial against Szabo. Matt then decides to go against Szabo himself, and returns to the same club that he met Theresa in at the beginning of the film. At this point, Matt is fully in control of his powers and is able to shift his face at will, and he uses this to get close enough to Szabo to take him down once and for all. How Caitlyn Takes Down Matt (For Now) Matt does get his revenge, killing both Szabo and Theresa. Even after this, Matt’s killing doesn’t stop, however. He then takes out Caitlyn’s fiance, John Borrelli, as Matt developed romantic feelings for his doctor and wanted to remove her current partner from the picture. It’s shortly after this that Matt begins his final transformation, turning into the classic version of Clayface, with an oversized brown/grey body and a monstrous face. He begs Caitlyn to put him out of his misery, and she does just that. Matt’s body turns into a paste-like substance and oozes into the sewers, with Caitlyn believing that he’s still likely alive somewhere. The ending of the film shows Caitlyn wandering the streets of Gotham, looking suspiciously at those she passes on the street. Caitlyn is then approached by a homeless man who bows to her in the same way that Matt did earlier in the film; she’s suspicious of this interaction and believes that this may have been Matt. Clayface then ends with the reveal that this was Matt, and he goes from his interaction with Caitlyn to his new home in the sewers of Gotham City. He uses his powers to role-play a conversation between himself and Caitlyn, showing that he’s still very much attached to her, and the film then ends. How Clayface Sets Up Future DCU Projects As a film, Clayface is relatively isolated; there are no references to Superman, Green Lantern, or any other heroes in the universe. There’s also no hint of Batman or any of his other villains during the film. Yet, Clayface does set up the future of the DCU quite nicely. For starters, Clayface gives fans their first full glimpse of Gotham in this universe, which will be used to set the stage for when Batman and other characters (and villains) arrive in the near future. It’s possible, then, that Clayface becomes one of the first villains that the DCU Batman faces off against when the latter finally does join the universe. Clayface also lays the groundwork for the dynamics of Gotham City, much of which will likely be explored further in Batman-centric projects. The city is, as is typical with most adaptions, engulfed by corruption, with the police force under the control of Markos Szabo. Szabo himself also represents the first look at the Gotham crime scene in the DCU, and may be used as a gateway for the introduction of other characters in the future, such as Carmine Falcone and Salvatore Maroni. Release Date October 23, 2026 Runtime 108 Minutes Director James Watkins Cast Tom Rhys Harries Matt Hagen / Clayface Naomi Ackie Dr. Caitlin Bates