Before the DC Universe officially launches its new Batman, one of the Dark Knight's most iconic foes is taking centre stage. The upcoming live-action film Clayface puts the tragic villain in the spotlight under the direction of James Watkins (Speak No Evil), with a script penned by celebrated horror filmmaker Mike Flanagan (Carrie). Clayface is scheduled to hit theaters nationwide on October 23.
While the original Clayface, a master of disguise named Basil Karlo, debuted in 1940, the feature film focuses on a later iteration: Matt Hagen, a mud-like shapeshifting monster with deep Hollywood ties. Here is everything you need to know about Clayface’s journey from comic book history to the screen.
Who Is Matt Hagen in the DCU movie?
In the new film, Matt Hagen (played by Tom Rhys Harries) is a glamorous Hollywood actor whose life takes a dark turn after an affair with a powerful mobster’s girlfriend. Seeking revenge, the gangsters brutally disfigure the actor's face. Desperate to reclaim his handsome appearance, Hagen agrees to undergo a risky, experimental skin treatment.
Instead of restoring his looks, the procedure turns his body into a malleable, mud-like substance—granting him the ability to shapeshift into anyone or anything, but cursing him as a tragic, monstrous villain. This origin heavily draws from Batman: The Animated Series, which ingeniously blended Matt Hagen’s comic book powers with Basil Karlo’s Hollywood background.
When did Clayface first show up in the DCU?
Although his solo film is a live-action prequel, Clayface actually made his first official DCU appearance in James Gunn’s animated series Creature Commandos. Voiced by Alan Tudyk, this incarnation is a ruthless assassin hired by Princess Ilana Rostovic to murder and impersonate a college professor in a plot against Rick Flag.
During a brutal clash with Flag and Eric Frankenstein, Clayface inflicts a devastating injury on Flag before Frankenstein seemingly finishes him off. DC Studios co-head Peter Safran has confirmed that Tudyk’s animated killer and Harris’s live-action protagonist are the exact same version of Matt Hagen at different points in his timeline.
The comic book origins of a muddy menace
Over the past 85 years, eight different characters have adopted the mantle of Clayface in DC Comics. The 1940 original, Basil Karlo, relied entirely on theatrical makeup to transform his appearance. However, beginning with Clayface II, the character evolved into a true superpowered monster born from bizarre scientific accidents.
While primarily known as a core member of Batman’s rogue's gallery, Clayface frequently clashes with other heroes across Gotham, including Batgirl and Nightwing. On several occasions, various iterations of the character have even joined forces under the terrifying moniker "The Mud Pack."
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