Tom Rhys Harries to star in DC Studios’ ‘Clayface’

Preview:

• Tom Rhys Harries has won the lead in the Clayface movie.
• James Watkins is in the director’s chair.
• The movie is set for a September 2026 release date.

With the current cinematic incarnation of DC Studios, run by James Gunn and Peter Safran launching with Gunn’s take on the Man of Steel, another developing movie from the company took a positive step forward by narrowing in on its lead.

‘Clayface’, which will spotlight the shape-shifting Batman villain, has a face at last. Welsh actor Tom Rhys Harries has seen off the likes of ’28 Years Later’s Jack O’Connell, ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes’Tom Blyth, ‘The White Lotus’Leo Woodall and ‘1917’s George MacKay to score the title role.

James Watkins, who last directed ‘Speak No Evil’, is overseeing the movie, which has seen script work from Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini.

It’s the next movie that will head into production for the studio, with a 2026 release date planned.

Related Article: ‘Speak No Evil’ Director James Watkins to Direct ‘Clayface’ for DC Studios and Warner Bros.

Who is Clayface exactly?

If you’re not up to date on the muddy man-monster, here’s your basic briefing on Clayface as a character.

Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, the original Clayface, Basil Karlo, appeared in Detective Comics #40, published in June 1940, as a B-list actor who began a life of crime using the identity of a villain that he had portrayed in a horror film.

Kane stated that the character was partially inspired by the 1925 Lon Chaney version of ‘The Phantom of the Opera’; and that his name was derived from Boris Karloff and Basil Rathbone.

The character only appeared twice in the Golden Age but was the inspiration for the shape-shifting Silver Age version. And, as is usual in comic books, the name has been used for a number of similar takes on the character.

In the late 1950s, Batman began facing a series of science fiction-inspired foes, including Matthew Hagen, a treasure hunter given vast shapeshifting powers and resiliency by exposure to a pool of radioactive protoplasm, who became the second Clayface. He retained the title for the next couple of decades of comic book history.

In the late 1970s, Preston Payne became the third Clayface. A scientist suffering from hyperpituitarism, Preston Payne used the second Clayface’s blood to create a cure for his condition, but instead became a clay-like creature that needed to pass his new condition on to others to survive.

Sondra Fuller of Strike Force Kobra used the terrorist group’s technology to become the fourth Clayface, also known as Lady Clay. She formed the Mud Pack with the original and third Clayfaces. During this era, the original Clayface used the DNA of Payne and Fuller to become the Ultimate Clayface (talk about bragging!)

Sometime after the Mud Pack event, Payne and Fuller had a son named Cassius “Clay” Payne, who, as the fifth Clayface, also had metahuman shapeshifting powers.

That’s just a selection of the character’s alternates, who have appeared over the years in various films, series, animated works, video games and other forms of media.

Alan Tudyk voices Clayface in the animated series ‘Harley Quinn’ and ‘Creature Commandos.’ Ron Perlman previously voiced him in animated projects ‘Batman: The Animated Series’ and ‘The New Batman Adventures.’ Brian McManamon played the villain on ‘Gotham,’ while Lorraine Burroughs was Clayface on ‘Pennyworth.’

Gunn and Safran have previously said that actors who play roles in the animated sphere for their DC Studios will also take on the live-action version, but we don’t know if that means Tudyk will return for the movie.

As for the tone of the movie, Deadline’s sources have heard that the Clayface movie is rumored to be a horror-thriller-tragedy, with the lead protagonist not expected to be portrayed as the notorious villain he’s usually seen as.

Where else have I seen Tom Rhys Harries?

Harries feels like a fresh face, but he’s not really a newcomer. The actor has been seen in movies including ‘The Gentlemen’, ‘The Return,’ ‘Kandahar’ and the small screen likes of ‘Doctor Who’ and Apple TV+ series ‘Suspicion.’

What else is going on in the DC Studios movie universe?

Gunn’s big re-launch of DC-based movies kicks off next month with the launch of the aforementioned ‘Superman,’ featuring David Corenswet as Clark Kent/Supes and Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane. It’ll be in theaters on July 11th.

Batman, as played by Robert Pattinson in Matt Reeves’ ‘The Batman’ is staying around (a sequel, despite delays, is still being scripted), but he’s as part of the extended “Elseworlds” stories, which exist outside of the DC continuity.

Gunn and Safran’s original announcement also included mention that ‘Batman: The Brave And The Bold’, was in development, adapting Grant Morrison’s run comics run.

It features yet another Bruce Wayne who tries to keep his son, Damien Wayne, in line as Robin. It’s intended to launch the “Bat-family” into the movie universe, but has been hit with scripting issues and delays.

On the confirmed big screen front, ‘Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow,’ opens in June 2026, starring Milly Alcock and directed by Craig Gillespie from a script by Ana Nogueira.

There is also ‘Clayface’ — a horror film about the titular Batman villain — which is currently set to launch in September 2026, and will be directed by James Watkins (‘The Woman in Black’) from a script by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini but is also undergoing re-writes.

Finally, we have ‘Dynamic Duo’ — an animated feature about Batman’s Robin sidekicks Dick Grayson and Jason Todd — which is tentatively scheduled for June 2028.

Speaking recently with Rolling Stone, Gunn explained that he doesn’t want substandard movies coming out of his new DC effort:

“We have to treat every project as if we’re lucky. We don’t have the mandate to have a certain amount of movies and TV shows every year. So we’re going to put out everything that we think is of the highest quality. We’re obviously going to do some good things and some not-so-good things, but hopefully on average everything will be as high-quality as possible. Nothing goes before there’s a screenplay that I personally am happy with.”

When will the Clayface movie be in theaters?

With a director and star now aboard, and production plans for a UK shoot at Leavesden Studios in place, Warner Bros. and DC Studios are confirming a September 11th, 2026 release for this one.

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