Horror and Sci-Fi Brief · Wednesday 21 October 2026
Two days before it reaches cinemas, DC Studios’ Clayface is caught up in a row about who gets to review it first. The critics’ embargo lifts today, after an early two-and-a-half-star review appeared on Rotten Tomatoes and was then pulled. Over on Disney+, VisionQuest hits its halfway point, and a classic Marvel android finally arrives in the MCU.
The News That Matters
Update: Clayface reviews are due today after an early pan was pulled
- New development: The critics’ review embargo lifts today, Wednesday 21 October, after the first review to reach Rotten Tomatoes was removed
- The review: Josh Wilding of ComicBookMovie.com gave it 2.5 out of 5 after a paid public screening in the UK
- The film: Directed by James Watkins from a script by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, with Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen
- UK availability: In UK cinemas nationwide from Friday 23 October, the same day as the US
Nobody expected the first proper verdict on Clayface to come from a mystery screening. Josh Wilding, the Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic at ComicBookMovie.com, paid to see an Odeon Scream Unseen show on Monday 19 October, where audiences only find out what they are watching when the lights go down. It turned out to be Clayface. His review went up that night with a score of 2.5 out of 5 and a line that set the internet alight: “It should have been a game-changer for the genre; instead, it’s DC’s Morbius moment.”
It did not stay up for long. By Tuesday the review had vanished from Rotten Tomatoes, and the film’s page was back to showing no score at all. Some accused Wilding of breaking the embargo, which was set for today, but he says there was nothing to break: “I paid to watch a film at a public screening and shared my review.” He says he has spoken to Rotten Tomatoes, it is “all good, no drama”, and he will repost once the embargo lifts. Several critics backed him, while others felt he should have known better.
Wilding was not all negative. He singled out Tom Rhys Harries as a real find, and praised a tense sequence in an aircraft toilet. That is a long way from the hot reactions after the Los Angeles premiere, which leaned hard into the horror, and from the body-horror promise of last week’s clip. With the full wave of reviews due today, we will soon know whether this was one critic’s take or a sign of things to come. If you need a refresher first, our Clayface trailer breakdown has the story so far.
Update: VisionQuest reaches its halfway point as Jocasta makes her MCU debut
- New development: Episodes 3 and 4 are now streaming, and they bring the live-action debut of the android Jocasta, played by T’Nia Miller
- Returning: Paul Bettany as Vision and James Spader as Ultron
- Still to come: Episodes 5 and 6 on Wednesday 28 October, episode 7 on 4 November and the finale on 11 November (UK dates)
- UK availability: Episodes 3 and 4 are streaming now on Disney+ in the UK, released at 2am on Wednesday 21 October
Marvel did not keep this one a secret. A short teaser ahead of the new double bill confirmed that Jocasta would make her debut this week, and she does. T’Nia Miller, so memorable in The Fall of the House of Usher, plays the android, a character who first appeared in Marvel’s comics in 1977 and has never been seen in live action before. We will not spoil how she arrives, but Marvel has clearly given her a fresh story of her own.
VisionQuest is the final part of the trilogy that began with WandaVision and continued with Agatha All Along. Showrunner Terry Matalas has Vision on the run with a bounty on his head, while Ultron lives on inside his programming. Episodes 3 and 4 take the eight-part series to its halfway mark, with two more next week before single episodes take it to the finale. If you are just starting, our launch guide has the details, and you can catch up with the second trailer.
Movieversalfilm Takeaway
One review does not make a verdict. Clayface still has a real chance to prove the doubters wrong when the full wave of reviews lands today, and Friday’s audiences will have the final say. Meanwhile, VisionQuest has just added a new android to the MCU, and the second half of the series now has a lot to live up to.
Will one early review change your plans, or are you seeing Clayface this weekend whatever the critics say?