David Cronenberg's The Fly Meets Batman In DCU's New R-Rated Spinoff Movie Clayface

Published Jul 24, 2026, 3:05 PM EDT Sign in to your ScreenRant account An unlikely source inspired Clayface. The upcoming DC Universe movie stars Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen, a struggling Gotham City actor whose face is disfigured, only for an experimental treatment to transform him into the shapeshifting Batman villain. Directed by Speak No Evil filmmaker James Watkins, Clayface will cover all body horror. However, the R-rated film will dig deeper than the gruesome abilities fans associate with the character, exploring how much of Matt’s humanity remains beneath the clay. In a red carpet interview with ScreenRant's Ash Crossan at San Diego Comic-Con, Harries discussed the classic horror movie that influenced the new DCU installment. The actor specifically highlighted Jeff Goldblum’s character in The Fly as Seth Brundle’s grotesque transformation in Cronenberg's acclaimed 1986 movie. Read Harries’ full comments below: "We reference [David] Cronenberg's The Fly. There's a lot of inspiration pulled from that, and Jeff Goldblum's humanity throughout this disfigurement. Well, he becomes a fly. So how he maintains a level of humanity through that is incredible." Goldblum begins The Fly as a quirky but sympathetic scientist whose teleportation experiment goes terribly wrong when a fly enters the machine with him. Seth's transformation becomes increasingly difficult to watch as the movie continues, but Goldblum never lets the gruesome effects completely hide the vulnerable man underneath. This makes his eventual fate more tragic rather than frightening, which appears to be an important balance for Harries' performance as Matt. Clayface is known as one of Batman's most visually unsettling villains, but his shapeshifting abilities can make it easy to focus more on the monster than the man. If Harries can maintain the same recognizable humanity he admired so much in Goldblum’s performance, audiences just may find themselves sympathizing with Clayface even as he becomes dangerous. A standalone movie allows the DCU to change that by placing Matt’s perspective at the center of his transformation. Harries is not the only member of the Clayface team who has found inspiration in Cronenberg's movie. While speaking with Deadline, director James Watkins explained that The Fly makes it impossible for the transformation to feel believable and rather truthful, something he also wanted to bring to life with Matt's story. Watkins promised “a lot of ick and a lot of gore,” but spoke about how the movie has an emotional core built around the character's sadness and heartbreak. Both Harries’ and Watkins’ comments show just how much of an influence The Fly was in shaping Clayface. Watkins looked to Cronenberg's classic when testing how to make Matt's transformation really feel and look believable, while Harries drew from Goldblum's ability to remain sympathetic even as Seth Brundle loses himself. Directed by Watkins, Clayface also stars Naomi Ackie, Max Minghella, Eddie Marsan, David Dencik, Nancy Carroll, and Joshua James. The movie arrives in theaters on October 23, 2026. Clayface Release Date October 23, 2026 Director James Watkins Writers Mike Flanagan, Hossein Amini, Bill Finger, Bob Kane Producers James Gunn, Lynn Harris, Matt Reeves, Peter Safran Franchise(s) DCU Cast Tom Rhys Harries Matt Hagen / Clayface Naomi Ackie Dr. Caitlin Bates An upcoming DCU feature film based on the shapeshifting Batman villain Clayface, purportedly combining tragedy and body horror.