The two leads of DC Studios’ Clayface say the film’s tragic streak comes straight from the 1990s cartoon they grew up on. Tom Rhys Harries and Naomi Ackie told IGN they were big fans of Batman: The Animated Series as kids in the UK. Ackie described rushing home after school as a ritual: “You finish school at 3:30, you get home, you watch Batman.”
That fandom isn’t just nostalgia. IGN reports that Mike Flanagan’s original screenplay took its inspiration directly from the series episode “Feat of Clay”, which reimagined how actor Matt Hagen became Clayface. Harries, who plays Hagen, said revisiting the episode while making the film was “really interesting”. He also praised Ron Perlman’s voice work as the character, particularly the shape-shifting sequences and an exchange with Batman in which Clayface says he doesn’t know who he is.
Ackie, who sat alongside Harries for the interview, said the episode makes viewers feel sorry for the villain. In her telling, the film keeps that sympathy while staying “absolutely horrific”, which fits the body-horror pitch DC Studios has leaned on in its marketing. According to Wikipedia’s production listing), Flanagan wrote the story, and James Watkins directs from a screenplay by Flanagan and Hossein Amini. Hagen is a rising Hollywood actor whose career and face are wrecked by a botched scientific experiment, a setup Gulf News says plays as tragedy more than spectacle.
For fans of the cartoon, the cast comments suggest what to expect: a monster story built around loss of identity rather than spectacle. It also sits oddly alongside the wider DCU. James Gunn has said the film comes first chronologically, which we covered in our look at the DCU timeline, so this origin story arrives before the rest of the universe’s Gotham has taken shape.
When can you see it in the UAE?
Gulf News reports that Clayface opens in UAE cinemas on Thursday 22 October, a day before its US release. VOX Cinemas lists the film as English-language with Arabic subtitles and a 15+ rating, with showtimes in formats including MAX and Premier at City Centre Meaisem and Yas Mall.
Do I need to know Batman: The Animated Series before watching Clayface?
No. The film tells Matt Hagen’s origin as a standalone story, and Batman isn’t expected to appear. The episode “Feat of Clay” is an influence on the script, not required viewing.
Is Clayface a horror film?
The cast and VOX’s genre listing both point that way. Ackie describes it as heartfelt but “absolutely horrific”, and VOX files it under Horror with a 15+ rating.
When does Clayface open in UAE cinemas?
Gulf News and the VOX Cinemas listing both point to Thursday 22 October 2026. Check your cinema’s app for showtimes and formats.
