DC Studios Finds Lead for Upcoming ‘Clayface’ Horror Movie, Gunn Confirms They Were “Blown Away” By The Actor
Tom Rhys Harries is officially joining the DC Universe. He’s been picked to play the lead role in Clayface, the upcoming DC Studios movie. The news comes from Deadline, which reports that DC wanted to go with a “fresh face” for the role, and Harries got the part after beating out other rising stars like Jack O’Connell, Tom Blyth, Leo Woodall, and George MacKay.
Harries is a Welsh actor who’s been getting more attention lately. He played Eddie Walker in Suspicion on Apple TV+ and Axel Collins in Netflix’s White Lines. You might’ve also seen him in The Gentleman by Guy Ritchie, or in Kandahar with Gerard Butler. He even had a role in Doctor Who.
After a long and incredibly exhaustive search, we finally have our DCU Clayface in Tom Rhys Harries. Both Matt Reeves and I were just blown away by this guy, and can't wait for you to see this film, directed by James Watkins and written by Mike Flanagan. https://t.co/EkYFYUvmdA
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) June 17, 2025
Clayface will be directed by James Watkins, who made the horror movie Speak No Evil. The first version of the script was written by Mike Flanagan, the filmmaker known for The Haunting of Hill House, The Life of Chuck, and the upcoming Carrie series.
Flanagan didn’t end up directing, though, since he’s busy with other projects. Hossein Amini, who was nominated for an Oscar, also worked on later drafts of the script.
The story will focus on the original version of Clayface, Basil Karlo. In the movie, he’s a B-movie actor who wants to stay famous, so he uses a strange substance that changes his body.
He ends up turning into a living lump of clay that can change shape and take on different faces. It’s being described as a “Hollywood horror story,” not a regular superhero film. This version of Clayface won’t be fighting Batman like in most of the comics.
The character Clayface has been around for a long time. He first appeared in Detective Comics #40 back in June 1940. He’s usually known as one of Batman’s villains, but this film is going in a different direction, focusing on his own story.
Mike Flanagan actually tried to get this movie made a few years ago. He once said he wanted to do a “horror/thriller/tragedy” about Clayface and even pitched the idea during a meeting with DC Films. “They didn’t bite,” he said at the time, adding that he’d still be ready “anytime.” Then, in 2023, Flanagan and his producing partner Trevor Macy met with DC Studios bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran, and talks about Clayface started again.
There was also talk that Clayface might show up in Matt Reeves’s Batman sequel, which is still in the works. Reeves is actually producing the Clayface movie, along with Lynn Harris, through his company 6th & Idaho Productions.
The film got the official green light in December 2024, and it’s set to come out on September 11, 2026. Filming is expected to begin in early 2025. The budget for the film is said to be around $40 million.
So now, with Tom Rhys Harries in the lead, Clayface is finally moving forward after years of talk, rewrites, and changes behind the scenes.
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