DC just gave its Clayface trailer a PG-13 makeover, trading the red-band cut for a version with new footage built for wider audiences. The rework comes after a rocky start to 2026 for DC Studios and James Gunn, whose Supergirl bombed at the box office and landed mixed reviews at best. Clayface, an R-rated Batman villain spin-off set for release this October, was supposed to be a course correction, and now new scenes screening in theaters this summer suggest DC is hedging its bets by courting a wider, more family-friendly audience.
Fans heading out to see Supergirl this summer quickly spotted the differences in the new green band Clayface trailer and the R-rated version from back in April
The edits start small and escalate fast. Early on in the red band cut, Matt Hagen (Tom Rhys Harries) gets his face cut open in a bloody close-up; the PG-13 version swaps it for an earlier look at the character (with his face fully undamaged and not in danger)
About 10 seconds later, the trailer cuts to a shot that closely echoes footage already used a few seconds earlier in the official trailer
In the theatrical version of the trailer, the freaky look of Clayface’s skin, which almost looks to be suffocating Matt, is not present; instead, another shot of his face drooping
The next shot removed was of a man getting hooked by the mouth, a quick, but clearly violent scene based on the fear in his eyes.
In the green band trailer, that image is replaced with a close-up of Matt’s face, before the transformation. This image of Matt shows clearly a time before the accident, where he’s trying to make it as a star in Hollywood
Another moment from the red band trailer, showing someone upside down with their nose bleeding, has been replaced with a shot of class bubbling and rippling like wet clay
This is a rearrangement, as this active clay moment was shown earlier in the first scene; it looks like a lump of clay vibrating on what looks like a subwoofer. In reality, maybe the clay is alive and moving on its own accord.
Here’s a full look at the re-edited teaser, and even though it was playing ahead of a PG-13 movie, the darkness of the upcoming film still shines through:
The new trailer objectively removed the bloody imagery, but still included the face-wiping-like-putty moment from Clayface’s first trailer, and it lines up with the body-horror direction the film has leaned into since it was first unveiled. More additional shots are seen through the updated trailer, giving even more context to this DCU version of Hollywood, Gotham, Matt Hagen, and a collection of characters
Speaking of which, Clayface marks the universe’s first real trip to Gotham, working in background nods to the Joker, Robin, and other names from Batman’s rogues’ gallery without putting the Caped Crusader on screen yet
While Matt Reeves and Robert Pattinson are hard at work filming The Batman – Part 2, there’s no official update on when the DCU’s Brave and the Bold Batman movie will go into production.
James Watkins is directing Clayface from a script by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, with Naomi Ackie, Eddie Marsan, and Max Minghella rounding out the cast under the tagline “Look Fear In The Face,” which fits in nicely with the DCU
Should Clayface Feel the Pressure?
Supergirl was supposed to prove the DCU could thrive without James Gunn directing and writing every project himself. Before Supergirl, every new DCU project since the regime change was either written or directed by Gunn
Instead, it became the growing universe’s first real letdown, a box office bomb with mixed reviews, caught in its own Snyder Cut-style standoff between director Craig Gillespie’s version of the film and a shorter cut shaped by the studio.
That leaves Clayfacecarrying more weight than a horror movie with a reported $40 million budget should, but that’s the risk you run with interconnected storytelling
Luckily, Clayface doesn’t need Superman-sized numbers to turn a profit; it just needs to clear a much lower bar, and a well-reviewed sleeper hit could help push DC’s momentum back in a good direction
Whether that happens depends on how well Watkins and Flanagan worked with Gunn, since Supergirl’s well-reported bumpy production influenced its final product. If Clayface lands with critics, fans, and turns a profit, that will be a major win, even though other future DCU projects could be in danger after this summer’s slump
