Clayface: Mike Flanagan’s Pitch, the Main Characters, and DC Universe’s Rogues Gallery Explained

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How did Clayface become Clayface?

DC Studios’ Clayface introduces one of Batman’s most unsettling enemies in a standalone body-horror thriller set within the new DC Universe. The film follows Matt Hagen, a Gotham-born actor whose career and identity collapse after a brutal attack disfigures his face. Desperate to restore his appearance, Hagen undergoes an experimental treatment that transforms his body into living clay while damaging his grip on reality and driving him toward revenge.

In DC lore, Clayface is a shapeshifting member of Batman’s rogues’ gallery, best known for using his malleable body to impersonate others and create monstrous forms. The movie expands that mythology through Matt Hagen’s tragic origin story, placing him in Gotham’s shadow while exploring themes of fame, vanity, identity, and psychological breakdown.

James Watkins directs from a screenplay by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, with Tom Rhys Harries starring as Matt Hagen/ Clayface alongside Naomi Ackie, David Dencik, Max Minghella, and Eddie Marsan.

Matt Hagen’s stratospheric rise from Gotham street kid often getting into mischief 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 has troubling physical and psychological side effects that send him down a destructive path of all-consuming revenge.

“The horror in this movie represents the struggle of ego and what Matt Hagen succumbs to. We’re judging our insides based on other people’s outsides. Matt Hagen loses that in his ability to chase beauty and that leads him down a very dark path.” says producer Lynn Harris.

Tom Rhys Harries On Matt Hagen

Matt has experienced the dizzying heights and debilitating lows of life. He’s come from street life and earned his acting career until a viciously cruel act changes his life. “He is then forced to make questionable choices in his pursuit to take back his life,” says Tom Rhys Harries

As a shapeshifting character, Matt is starting from ground zero with no concept of Clayface. He’s just trying to reconstruct his life from the rubble from his previously ideal life. Clayface mines Matt’s notion and expectation of success.

“I ended up thinking a lot about the concept of running towards something or running away from something. Sometimes, we’re not sure whether we’re running away or toward—and those two things aren’t mutually exclusive,” Tom continues.

His disfigurement forces Matt to reassess his priorities to give the next chapter of his life some direction. So he turns to Dr. Caitlyn Corr who offers him a solution. Both share similar backgrounds and fought hard to achieve their status in life against poor odds. She offers him the power of shape-shifting via nanotechnology.

Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen and Naomi Ackie as Dr. Corr in Clayface

Matt Hagen (Tom Rhys Harries) and Dr. Caitlyn Corr (Naomi Ackie). Photo by Parisa Taghizadeh/ Warner Bros. Pictures

Naomi Ackie on Dr. Caitlyn Corr

Dr. Corr is a dedicated and accomplished scientist who is drawn to her patient Matt, more than their common background allows. She crosses a serious medical ethics red line to help Matt restore his face.

She understands the nature of isolation and loss since her nanotechnology backers have backed off. The work continues solo. She is down on her knees and close to career collapse, when Matt fortuitously enters her life. Both are vulnerable, suggestible and reckless as they cross the rubicon.

She is obsessed with scientific ambition and Matt is mired in desperation. But, like many scientific breakthroughs, they don’t come soon enough and not without many failures.

“The thing that was really interesting to me about both characters is they are really hungry for acclaim, for being noticed for doing something that makes a difference. It’s a very tempting thing to have someone saying, “I want your help and I think we can make this work… and I’ll do anything.” And she responds, “Okay, I’ll give it a go.” There’s a bit of a mad scientist about Caitlyn,” notes Ackie.

Her growing feelings for Matt indicates a loss of self-control for both of them. She’s reacting to the injustices of life and Matt’s associated trauma. It sabotages the way they view the world even if you reject the victimhood label.

Matt makes many unwise choices by rejecting that dealing with his trauma he can better understand his feelings and ultimately himself.

This affects the rhythms of each scene between them. “Where is there levity? Where is there darkness? Where is there a somberness? How much can we pack into each scene, so the audience is getting as much information about these characters — and feels as invested as we are about these characters — as possible? Your understanding of the tone strengthens as time goes on.”

Max Minghella on John Borelli

John Borrelli, is Caitlyn’s fiancé and a Gotham City detective with a strong moral compass working within a system rife with corruption.

John is caught in quite an uncomfortable position as Matt and Caitlyn’s closeness continues to develop and evolve. Although he’s unhappy with the situation, he detaches patiently and observes them without imposition.

He’s also investigating multiple murders in Gotham City which appear to have some connection to Matt, but he can’t figure it out. John is also swamped with Police Department work which distracts him from Caitlyn and Matt to a degree.

Max Minghella as John Borelli in Clayface

John Borelli (Max Minghella) Photo by Parisa Taghizadeh/ Warner Bros. Pictures

David Dencik on Kingpin Markos Szabo

Szabos is a nightclub owner and a central crime figure in Gotham City. He keeps a vice-like chokehold on his associates and routinely bribes the mayor, the police department and the judges.

“He does all of this with a smile on his face. He also likes a good time, beautiful women,” says Dencik.

Tom Rhys Harries and James Watkins in Clayface

Matt Hagen (Tom Rhys Harries) and Director James Watkins. Photo by Parisa Taghizadeh/ Warner Bros. Entertainment

Director James Watkins on the Clayface Journey

Watkins got sent an early script and began earnest conversations with producers James Gunn, Peter Safran, and Matt Reeves and Lynn Harris.

“We discussed how I wanted to find a grounded way of taking the audience on this wild rollercoaster ride so that they never lose sight of the tragic human story with the horror – the emotional tribulations of Matt Hagen as the man becomes a monster,” states Watkins.

It was a deliberate detour from the traditional DC Universe. “It was an R-rated, slightly edgier, and harder horror film – a really dark character journey.” Clayfacee tapped into the primal fear of losing our bodily autonomy – physical and mental. This makes Matt’s desire for revenge even more compelling.

As Matt spirals into madness, it raises the question of whether he’s in control of his emotions or whether they control him. This inhabits the psychological thriller space adjacent to the horror of being deformed.

Prior to his attack, Matt was on the verge of major acting award recognition. Notably, he remained humble and true to his roots. He maintained contact with his old friends and was an all-round nice guy.

Dr. Caitlyn Corr, who’s a revolutionary scientist doing cutting-edge research in nanotechnology, helps restore his face, but there are side effects — the nanos amplify primal impulses within him. They ramp up his unconscious feelings of hurt and rage and desire for revenge. And that sets him on a dark path to rectify the wrongs done to him by the people around him. He starts out wanting to restore his life, but he winds up chasing down those who ruined it.

Matt’s life takes an undesired turn. He and Caitlyn are trying to understand his power and whether it can be used for good. As he descends, Matt becomes a incresingly tragic figure. The revenge he seeks won’t make him whole again. He doesn’t feel justice can be served.

He becomes a wretched, pitiable figure with whom we can empathize, but not excuse. As an anti-hero, he’s done bad things, but he’s not 100% bad. There’s a heartbroken being buried inside the monster.

Producer Matt Reeves on conceiving Clayface

The Batman (which he also produced) was not a Batman origin story. “It was an entree into origin stories for the Rogues’ Gallery.” Screenwriter Mike Flanagan expressed his interest in the project, especially the animated series iteration. He had been thinking about the story for years and pitched his ideas.

“As the story started coming together, becoming this tragic love story — The Fly meets this horror thriller. James Gunn and Peter Safran]took over DC Studios, and that was one of the first things we pitched to them. They loved it.”

Clayface became an anti-hero horror/ thriller, romance, revenge tale. Casting the right actor was paramount. “On the one hand, you want to be frightened of him, but you also want to understand him at a deeper level.”

Producer James Gunn

James Gunn has a wide-ranging career ranging from The Suicide Squad to Lanterns.

“Clayface is really just continuing our tradition of creating something that maybe isn’t what people were expecting, but I do believe is what people want. It is a true horror film like the films that I grew up loving — John Carpenter, David Cronenberg — but within the DCU. Not a fake horror movie, but an actual horror movie.”

Producer Peter Safran

The DC Universe spans movies, television, gaming and experiences. They want everything to feel different.

“Clayface is one of the great Batman villains, and he’s never had his time in the sun. We’re getting an opportunity to tell his origin story. You’ve certainly never seen anything like it in the comic book space, but we’re really excited to bring it to the world.”

Matt Hagen’s story is a truly tragic one. “Although your heart may break for him, ultimately, he ends up as a real villain down the road. That’s not where his heart was, nor is it where he started.”

“You see the gradual loss of his humanity over the course of the film. I believe audiences will find themselves torn between feeling empathy for him and blaming him. That really points up what’s special about DC — we can tell these stories with tremendous depth. And that’s the magic of films — you can get moviegoers to explore these interesting avenues.”