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DC Studios just surprised everyone in San Diego by sneaking a Clayface movie panel inside a DC Comics panel

DC's Clayface movie makes surprise Comic-Con appearance.

Clayface SDCC — Image credit: DC Studios/Popverse

Additional contributions by Chris Arrant

Published on Thu Jul 23 2026

The movie side of DC Studios doesn't have any announced plans for this weekend's Comic-Con International: San Diego. Yes, there is a Lanterns panel, but none of the upcoming movies from James Gunn & friends had made plans to come out this year.

But then they did.

During DC Comics' Jim Lee & Friends panel from Comic-Con International: San Diego 2026, director James Watkins and actor Tom Rhys Harries of this fall's Clayface movie made a surprise appearance and took over the panel and then some.

"Matt [Hagen, the eponymous Clayface] is just trying to regain the life that's been taken from him through conventional means, but he's in Gotham City, so that's not going to work," says Watkins to a surprised crowd.

"[Throughout the whole film], he's just trying to regain his life," adds Rhys Harries, who plays the lead. "I think there's something relatable about that. It gets pretty primal pretty quickly. It's ultimately about loss of identity, and how desperate any of us would get with that loss of identity."

A still from the Clayface teaser — Image credit: DC Studios

"There have been eight different versions of Clayface throughout the decades," says panel host Lee, who is publisher of DC Comics and CCO of DC as a whole. "These are characters who are like you and me... who pushes himself to become the best version of himself, when you look at the villains, they're also like you and me, they're regular people who have one very bad day."

DC Comics' Jim Lee & Friends panel was scheduled to run today from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM, but by the end of it they had gone 20 minutes long, and cutting short the plans for the following panel. It's a good thing that the next panel was a second Jim Lee panel, talking about his work as an artist and not so much as one of the main bosses at DC.

Clayface opens in theaters October 23.

Enjoy our guides to how to watch the recent DCEU, the Arrowverse, and James Gunn's upcoming DCU. Oh, and don't forget our guide to what's coming up for DC projects on the big and small screens.

About Comic-Con International: San Diego

Comic-Con is the premier event for all things comics and related popular art, including movies, television, gaming, interactive multimedia, and so much more! Enjoy cosplay galore and take part in unique programming, exclusive previews, and presentations, not to mention the expansive and diverse Exhibit Hall featuring merchandise and displays representing all fandoms.

Dates

Jul 22 - Jul 26

Location

San Diego, California
USA

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Graeme McMillan: Popverse Editor Graeme McMillan (he/him) has been writing about comics, culture, and comics culture on the internet for close to two decades at this point, which is terrifying to admit. He completely understands if you have problems understanding his accent.