Welsh actor Tom Rhys Harries has officially landed the lead role in Clayface, the upcoming DC Studios project based on one of Batman’s most iconic and tragic villains. According to TheWrap, Harries will play the titular shape-shifting character for DC.
The Clayface movie will be directed by James Watkins, known for his work on the 2023 remake of Speak No Evil. The latest version of the script was penned by Hossein Amini, the acclaimed screenwriter behind Drive. Horror filmmaker Mike Flanagan, originally attached to the project, wrote an earlier draft, but is no longer involved in the production.
The Batman helmer Matt Reeves is producing Clayface alongside Lynn Harris. The project is expected to begin filming this fall in the United Kingdom, with the studio positioning it as a key entry in its expanding Elseworlds slate — a label reserved for DC stories set outside the main continuity.
Rhys Harries is best known for his recent performance in The Return, where he starred opposite Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche. His past credits also include the action thriller Kandahar and Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen, where he played a young and volatile enforcer.
The first details about the Clayface movie
First introduced in 1940, Clayface has been portrayed in various forms across DC media, often depicted as a shapeshifting villain capable of molding his appearance into anyone or anything. According to previous reports, Clayface is budgeted at $40 million and will center on a B-movie actor who injects himself with an experimental substance to stay relevant. However, the procedure goes horribly wrong, turning him into a grotesque, ever-changing creature made of living clay.
During a DC Studios presentation earlier this year, DC Studios co-chief Peter Safran offered the first major details about the Clayface movie. Safran described the film as “an amazing body horror film that reveals a compelling origin of a classic Batman villain,” promising something more terrifying and emotionally rich than audiences might expect from a lesser-known character.
Stay tuned for the latest news regarding the Clayface movie and the future of the DC Universe.
