The DCU has its first R rating - Clayface cited for gore, nudity and drug use, in cinemas on 23 October
Brace yourself: Clayface’s DCU movie is steering into body horror, with an MPA rating teasing it won’t skimp on the gnarlier stuff.
We've got another twist on the way from the DC Universe, and this one's shuffling firmly into grim horror territory. Clayface has just landed its official rating, and if you were hoping for a family-friendly caper, you'll want to look elsewhere. Here's where things stand so far with DCU's next big swing at the cinema.
Clayface is DC Studios' first theatrical R-rated film.
Gore, Guts, and a Bit of Glamour
The Motion Picture Association (MPA) has officially rated Clayface R, chalking it up to "strong bloody violence, gore, language, some nudity, and brief drug use." In other words, we're leaving Saturday morning superhero antics in the dust and heading straight for nightmare fuel. The violence and gore side of things isn't just hinted at—expect graphic body horror and disturbing transformations right at the core of the film.
This isn't a sudden swing. Both Tom Rhys Harries, who leads as Matt Hagen, and director James Watkins have played up how the film stands on its own two feet—more horror than heroics, very much trying not to get lost in the wider DC film sprawl.
In a chat with PEOPLE, Watkins distilled it down: here's how he described what they're aiming for:
We're a smaller-budgeted movie, but we're also leaning into that notion of being a big, bold swing in a horror space.
What's the Actual Story?
If you're not up on your DC villains, Matt Hagen is an actor with a knack for falling on hard times. After a career-ending injury, he signs up for an "experimental treatment" that promises to put his face—and life—back together. As you can already guess, it doesn't exactly work out; instead, his body mutates in increasingly horrifying ways, serving as the film's main horror drive.
James Watkins is steering the ship. Horror is right in his wheelhouse—he directed the properly unsettling Speak No Evil and brings that sensibility to Clayface. The screenplay's a tag team effort: Mike Flanagan (who knows his horror) and Hossein Amini both get writing credits.
- Tom Rhys Harries stars as Matt Hagen / Clayface
- James Watkins directs
- Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini wrote the script
- Part of James Gunn's new DC film universe, after Superman and Supergirl
Unlike some interconnected comic book films, this one's apparently "fairly self-contained"—you won't need to revise every other tie-in or origin story beforehand.
Release Date and Final Details
Clayface hits UK cinemas (and the rest of the world, presumably, barring any surprises) on 23 October 2026. If R ratings, body horror, and superheroes gone properly south are your thing, jot down the date. Warner Bros. is distributing this one under their DC Studios banner, and it's the third theatrical instalment in James Gunn's revamped DCU, following those more conventional takes with Superman and Supergirl.