Clayface Ending Explained: Will Matt Hagen Return?

Spoilers follow.

One of the tenets of the body horror subgenre is taking a basic core fear of the unknown and applying it to the human body. From "Shivers" to "The Thing" to "The Substance," body horror is all about the painful, upsetting, and potentially deadly lack of knowledge about our bodies and ourselves. Though some body horror films are more focused on the various ways in which mutilation, mutation, or other grievous physical harm can occur, many of them also carry a subtext about the darkness that lies within both literally and figuratively. 

Beginning with classic monster movies like "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" and "The Wolf Man," the elements of what we consider to be key to the body horror subgenre were built in large part thanks to the Atomic Age era of mad science tales, sci-fi/horror hybrids which owe their own debt to Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein." Stories in which an experiment intended to expand humanity's reach ends up having disastrous results.

"Clayface" is a film which deliberately evokes these classic tropes, wrapped in a modern-day body horror package. It's the first film from James Gunn and Peter Safran's DC Studios that can't be called a superhero movie in any way, and yet it's set in the Gotham City of DC Comics, with characters adapted from the pages of "Batman." For all intents and purposes, "Clayface" is a character-based, body horror romantic tragedy, whose titular character is presented as a dark anti-hero along the lines of "The Fly" and "Darkman." As such, it's wholly unconcerned with setting up future appearances of Matt Hagen (Tom Rhys Harries) in the DC universe. Which begs the question: will this Matt Hagen return in a future DC project, and if so, how?

Fans of the DC Universe and various "Batman" media will already have a basic understanding of who Clayface the character is, so "Clayface" the film, as directed by James Watkins and written by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, doesn't need to do too much explaining when it comes to his abilities. Essentially, the film waves away the enormous elasticity of Matt Hagen's skin, bones, and other tissue as the result of an overdose of A.I.-powered nanites, the result of an under-the-table human trial gone awry. 

That trial is conducted by Dr. Caitlyn Coor (Naomi Ackie), a struggling scientist who may be a genius but has caught some tough breaks regarding her investors and former partners. When Matt, who's lost his successful acting career after being permanently disfigured by a mob boss, finds Caitlyn and begs for her help, their dark journey (not to mention doomed almost-romance) begins.

After initially struggling with the effects of the nanites, Matt learns the extent of his new powers, and the question of his morality really opens up. He discovers he's able to exact revenge on those who've wronged him while getting away with it, all due to his ability to transform into other people and portray them. Though his first murder is portrayed as somewhat accidental, Matt soon becomes more cold blooded. Is this the result of his powers taking him beyond basic legality and morality? Or was there always a darkness inside him? Even before his transformation, the film drops hints that Matt, who grew up in an abusive household with ties to criminal activity in the rough Gotham neighborhood known as The Narrows, may already have a checkered past. Perhaps there's a reason he's so adept at hiding his true self.

At first, when Caitlyn's nanite treatment appears to have restored Matt, Hagen encourages the perpetually anxious scientist to take a little bow for herself in celebration. This moment and many others are what help build a growing flirtation between the two, as Caitlyn finds herself drawn to the passionate movie star. Matt, however, has already begun telling his friends that he's dating a new girl, essentially building a relationship with Caitlyn in his own mind without her knowledge. He knows that she's engaged to GCPD detective John Borrelli (Max Minghella), but he assumes that their extended engagement means that their relationship is fragile.

Matt murders mob boss Markos Szabo (David Dencik) and others in revenge. John, who's been investigating the string of murders, is close on his trail. Matt goes to Caitlyn in his form, seeing if he can simply replace him. This falls apart once Caitlyn sees John's dead body, and the emotional strain causes the nanites within Matt to go into overdrive. Losing control of himself, Caitlyn grabs her tablet which contains a failsafe kill switch for the nanites, and in a moment of clarity, Matt encourages her to press the button. She does, and Clayface appears to literally come apart and wash away into the sewer.

Some time later, Caitlyn is approached by a homeless man. After giving him change, he does a little familiar curtsey, which she flinches at. The homeless man makes his way to his shack and turns back into Matt, who is still alive. Caitlyn appears and says she followed him, believing him to be Matt, and declares her love for him. The two embrace, but it's revealed that Matt has actually manifested this version of Caitlyn. In reality, he's alone in his self-torment.

"Clayface" acts as an introduction to Matt Hagen/Clayface, yet it is technically not the first time the character has appeared in the new DC Universe. Clayface appears in the 2024 animated series "Creature Commandos," voiced by Alan Tudyk. As confirmed by James Gunn, this is indeed intended to be the same Clayface/Matt which we see in "Clayface," which means that the film takes place in the near past, not the present day. 

Although the Clayface in "Creature Commandos" has the same basic abilities as in the live-action film, this Matt Hagen is portrayed very differently. Rather than a moody, conflicted, tragic monster-type figure, the "Creature Commandos" Clayface is more sadistic, manipulative, and even crude.

Of course, this wouldn't be the first instance of a character turning up in different DC Studios projects and appearing different. In James Gunn's "Superman," Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo) is a voice of reason when it comes to persecuting the Man of Steel. Meanwhile, in the second season of "Peacemaker," Flag comes off as an obsessive villain. Similarly, Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) is a maniacal and cruel person in "Superman," while in "Peacemaker" Season 2 he's much calmer (not to mention more vulgar, marking the difference between the PG-13 film and the more R-rated series). This appears to be an intentional choice by the DC Studios brass, to have the same characters be portrayed in different ways depending on where and how they turn up. It's an ethos which is rather perfect for Clayface, as his entire deal is having an identity crisis.

The question of whether Matt Hagen will return in the future is a paradoxical one, as the answer is both yes and no. Hagen/Clayface will undoubtedly return in a future DC Studios project, whether that's in another season of "Creature Commandos" or "Peacemaker" (or hey, what about "Lanterns?"), or in a film like "Man of Tomorrow" or a "Batman" feature, should the DCU establish an in-universe Batman separate from Matt Reeves' films. 

That said, the Clayface who might hypothetically show up in those projects will likely not be the Universal monster-coded tragic figure, and will probably be whatever each given story needs him to be. The only way that the Matt of "Clayface" might reappear is if his unrequited love Caitlyn also appears with him, or if a proper sequel to "Clayface" gets made.

If Matt/Clayface were any other character, this reality might feel a bit like a cheat, because while it's a neat trick the DCU is pulling in repeating characters but having them act differently each time, there are some characters whose personalities should remain mostly consistent. Clayface/Matt is not one of them, though, as his mercurial identity is part of his nature. In fact, the best way for the DCU to honor the character work done in "Clayface" is to ensure that the Matt we meet at the beginning of the film is never seen again. That man is gone forever, if he was ever real to begin with.

"Clayface" is in theaters now.