Clayface Ending Explained: Is Clayface Still Alive?

SPOILER ALERT!! Spoilers for Clayface ahead!

Clayface is one hell of a ride from start to finish. When we finally get to its triumphantly tragic conclusion, Matt Hagen (Tom Rhys Herries) has successfully completed his wicked, blood-soaked trail of revenge. Not only did he kill mob boss Markos Szabo(David Dencick) and his platoon of goons, but he also was able to eliminate his former allies who betrayed him.

Most notably, we witness Hagen murder his best friend and fellow actor, Corey Bowery (Joshua Brewery). Following Matt’s disfigurement at the hands of Szabo, Corey revealed secrets and information that tainted Matt’s reputation and image in the civil court case that followed. Corey’s death is one of my favorite scenes in the entire film because of its direct reference to The Godfather Part II. In the same way Al Pacino’s Corleone hugged and kissed his brother who betrayed him, Matt embraces Corey and tells him, “You broke my heart.”

What happens between Caitlyn and Matt?

In the film’s climax, Dr. Caitlyn Orr (Naomi Ackie) comes home to what she thinks is her fiancé, Detective John Borrelli (Max Minghella). Still, it is actually Hagen, using his nano cell-enhanced skin to transform and disguise himself. Caitlyn is horrified at finding John’s already dead body as Matt insensibly begs her to give in to their forbidden romance. She then proceeds to taser Matt through a multi-story window. While he’s writhing in agony on the ground, Caitlyn activates the kill switch on the nanocell bots inside Matt, and he melts into a sewer drain.

Assuming Matt is dead, Caitlyn goes on with her life in the film’s prologue, but she is also haunted by the idea that he may have survived and is hiding his true face. She gives some spare change to a bum, who, after the camera follows him into his hidden sewer lair, is indeed revealed to be Matt, alive and well.

Not unlike Erik in The Phantom of The Opera, Matt has lost control and is past the point of no return. As much as we sympathized with him for most of the film, we can’t overlook his murders nor his unsettling obsession with Caitlyn. The film’s closing moments seems to be Caitlyn returning to Matt and confessing her secret love for him but as the camera pans out, it’s just a portion of Matt’s body role playing as her. Matt transforms into his monster form and screams in tortured rage.

What’s next for Clayface?

Surprisingly, the film has zero post-credit scenes, so we are left to just blindly speculate what’s next for this iconic Batman villain. He will definitely reappear somewhere down the line. Die-hard DC fans have already been introduced to Matt Hagen’s Clayface in the HBO Max animated series Creature Commandos that released in December of 2024. What was news to me, and I’m sure will be for audiences worldwide, is that this film is actually a prequel/origin story for that exact character.

DC Studios’ co-CEO, Peter Safran, confirms that this is the same exact character that appears in Creature Commandos. In addition, both he and James Gunn have made it known that Clayface is meant to be the audience’s live-action introduction to the iconic Gotham City in the DC cinematic universe.

Where is Batman?

Within the same interview, Safran also confirms that Batman is indeed fighting crime somewhere in Gotham during the events of the Clayface film. And to remind anyone reading this, the Batman for the DC cinematic universe is NOT the Robert Pattinson Batman from Matt Reeves’ hit 2022 blockbuster The Batman. (At least that’s what they keep insisting amid various internet rumors that imply otherwise)

Assuming things all go to plan, somewhere in the near future we will see a different, all-new iteration of Batman in a film titled The Brave and the Bold. Details are scarce on the project, but it is said to be inspired by Grant Morrison’s comic run that introduces Bruce Wayne’s son, Damian. I’d say Matt Hagen has a pretty good shot at, at the very least, a cameo, if not play some sort of role in that upcoming film.

While the current timeline of the DCU feels uncertain and fluid, especially since Supergirl‘s absolute box-office failure, it is hard to say anything concrete about what we will see. One thing for sure is that Clayface will be alive and ready for his close-up whenever it is that he does reappear.