Clayface Director Explains R-Rated DCU Horror Movie’s Ending

Debuting at over $40 million globally, DC Studios’ Clayface hit theaters this past weekend.

Directed by James Watkins, the film stars Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen/Clayface, an actor who becomes disfigured after a run-in with the mob. This leads him to seek experimental treatment from Dr. Caitlyn Corr (Naomi Ackie), which leads to him developing shapeshifting abilities.

Throughout Clayface, Matt and Caitlyn share a less than platonic relationship, culminating in tragedy as he goes more and more mad. Ultimately, their doomed romance ended with Matt murdering Caitlyn’s fiancé, John (Max Minghella), and Caitlyn activating a “kill switch” on him. However, the ending of the movie shows that Matt did survive, playing out his fantasy of Caitlyn returning to him using his shapeshifting abilities.

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Watkins unpacked the eerie ending of Clayface. When asked if Matt was indeed able to mold himself into a second person, the director confirmed as much. He explained:

Yeah, there’s been some sort of growth [since we saw his remnants go down the storm drain]. If you look at the comics, Clayface gets quite big. He’s massive in some of them. So whatever happened during that kill-switch moment, there’s been this amplification of the monster.

Watkins suggested that “maybe there’s just more of” Matt after Caitlyn attempts to destroy him. As a result, the director said that “he’s able to use a bit of him to create somebody else.”

How Do Matt Hagen’s Powers Work in Clayface?

Image via MovieStillsDB

In the same interview, Watkins addressed how Matt is able to properly emulate others, not just in appearance but in voice. While being an actor gives him the edge on mimicry, his powers do the heavy lifting, especially as the film progresses.

“When he first becomes Eddie Marsan’s Frank, he gets the voice wrong before he gets it right,” Watkins stated. “Clayface is a character whose superpower is mutability, the ability to shapeshift, and Matt, the person behind him, is already a brilliant actor with a brilliant mimetic quality. So what I thought was most interesting was that the superpower has a superpower.”

The filmmaker noted that “there’s potentially a collision between” his powers and his acting ability, “which makes it interesting.” As a result, the DCU movie has “quite a lot of fun with it and lean[s] into the idea of an actor playing different characters.” Though his next appearance is not confirmed, these comments set up an interesting future for Matt and the development of his powers in future DC projects.

Clayface is now playing in theaters.

Clayface

Release Date

October 23, 2026

Runtime

108 Minutes

Director

James Watkins

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  Tom Rhys Harries

  Matt Hagen / Clayface

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  Naomi Ackie

  Dr. Caitlin Bates