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Sure, you may know the name "Clayface" if you're a Batman fan (or someone who watches the HBO Max Harley Quinn show), but which Clayface do you know? What's the name of the person who's really underneath all of that goo? I know, I know: There are a billion villains running around the DC Universe, and who's got time to know all of their civilian names? Clayface, as it turns out, is one very big exception to that rule, as the name of the protagonist in the upcoming DC Studios film can attest to. 

The Clayface movie stars Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen, the man who becomes Clayface. It's worth noting that 'Matt Hagen' is the same character name Clayface has in the iconic Batman: The Animated Series show from the 1990s - the show that Mike Flanagan, writer of DC Studios' upcoming Clayface movie, has said inspired him to write the screenplay in the first place. Unlike other Batman villains, several people have been Clayface at one point or another, so Flanagan's script using Hagen's identity demonstrates just how far the Clayface film has been influenced by the Animated Series. 

See, unlike, say, your Reverse-Flash or even your Weather Wizard, a lot of people have been Clayface throughout the decades in DC lore. The most iconic version of the character is Basil Karlo, whose name and identity are a tribute to classic cinema. Here's a rundown of the various Clayfaces that have graced the pages of DC Comics. 

1. Basil Karlo [Debuted in Detective Comics #40 from 1940, an actor who went nuts when he found out that his biggest movie was set to be remade.]
2. Matt Hagen [Debuted in Detective Comics #298 from 1961, a treasure hunter who got lost in the sauce (literally) while looking at some radioactive protoplasm in a cave]
3. Preston Payne [Debuted in Detective Comics #477 from 1978, a scientist with hyperpituitarism researching cures for his condition at S.T.A.R. Labs)
4. Sonda Fuller [Debuted in Outsiders #21 from 1987, a woman from the Strike Force Kobra organization who was turned into a shapeshifter by Kobra]
5. Cassius "Clay" Payne [Debuted in Batman #550 from 1998, the son of Preston Payne and Sondra Fuller]
6. Peter "Clay-Thing" Malley [Debuted in Batman #550 from 1998 as well, got his powers from a skin sample from Cassius Payne]
7. Todd Russell [Debuted in 2002's Catwoman #1, an amnesiac who doesn't remember his real name, but resembles the actor Todd Russell]
8. Johnny Williams [Debuted in Batman: Gotham Knights #60 from 2005, a firefighter who was caught in an explosion at a chemical plant]

Now, as you can see with Hagen's entry in our list of comic book Clayfaces, the Clayface/Hagen featured in the DC Studios film doesn't have much in common with the comic book character he shares the same government name with. However, the Batman: The Animated Series episodes that feature a Clayface named Matt Hagen depict Hagen as a down-on-his-luck actor.

The story that screenwriter Mike Flanagan has created for the movie follows a similar premise, where Clayface/Hagen is an actor, not an explorer like his comic book self, demonstrating how much of a lift Flanagan is making from the TV show's depiction of Clayface, rather than following the exact letter of Matt Hagen's comic book counterpart. Perhaps this is a clue that the Clayface movie will have the same noir-adjacent tone that Batman: The Animated Series had? 

Regardless, we'll see how it all goes down when Clayface is released in theaters on September 11, 2026. 

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