Clayface ending explained: what happens to Matt Hagen and what it sets up for Gotham

For those of you keeping track of the DCU, the new Clayface film just dropped a rather intriguing ending that sets up big things for Gotham – and no, the legendary Bat hasn’t swooped in just yet. This one is all about Matt Hagen and the rather grim fate (or lack thereof) that befalls him in the sewers beneath Gotham. Let’s unpack the way the film has left his story wide open, and what that probably means for the universe going forward.

How Matt Hagen’s Story Actually Ends

If you were expecting the usual villain swan song, Clayface subverts that in classic tragic fashion. By the end, Matt Hagen isn’t dead, despite what things look like on the surface. After properly transforming into the iconic, gooey Clayface, Matt reaches his breaking point and asks Caitlyn – his closest link to his former self – to put him out of his misery. She steps in, and what’s left of him seemingly liquifies, oozing away into Gotham’s labyrinthine underbelly. On a first watch, that’s usually code for "never coming back," but not here.

Here’s the twist: Caitlyn doesn’t think he’s actually gone. Turns out, she’s right. Just as she’s getting used to the idea of his absence, a homeless bloke comes up, bows to her in exactly the way Matt always did – pointing pretty directly to the fact that Matt is simply crawling around in a new skin, courtesy of his shapeshifting powers. A minute later, we see him tucked away deep in the sewers, chatting to himself (or rather, role-playing a conversation with Caitlyn, which is frankly unsettling). He’s not just alive, he’s obsessed, and entirely in control of his abilities.

Clayface is the DCU’s first trip to Gotham City that doesn’t feature Batman, instead putting all the focus on one of the universe’s most tragic villains and showing just how twisted things can get without the Caped Crusader on the scene.

Setting the Stage for Gotham

Beyond Matt’s pretty miserable existence, the film lays a solid foundation for the future of Gotham. Clayface gives us the franchise’s first proper look at the infamous city – all corruption, mobsters, and police on the take. The main crime boss here is Markos Szabo, and it’s clear he’s running the show behind the scenes. Anyone who knows their DC lore will spot the hints: it’s only a matter of time before iconic Gotham underworld figures, like Carmine Falcone or Salvatore Maroni, get involved.

The wild card, of course, is where Matt Hagen fits into all this now he’s lurking in the sewers. Surviving down there gives the writers plenty of room to slot him in as a proper adversary for whatever version of Batman the DCU decides to introduce next – and frankly, given how things have been going, that showdown is inevitable.

• Directed by James Watkins
• Screenplay from Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini
• Presents Gotham pre-Batman, focused entirely on the villains and underworld

Gotham City appears for the first time in the DCU with Clayface, without a single Batman cameo.

The end result? A rather bleak, atmospheric introduction to Gotham, a villain who’s somehow even more tragic for surviving, and a clear path for the franchise to bring in bigger DC names whenever they feel like unleashing chaos on the city again.