One of my most eagerly anticipated upcoming DCU movies is easily Clayface, thanks in large part to its falling distinctly into the horror realm, with Mike Flanagan serving up the screenplay. While we know the release date already, the wait for casting news has been slightly less agonizing than waiting for Superman’s release date to finally arrive, but DC co-head James Gunn himself has dropped some huge casting news for the villainous feature.
Both the human and malleable sides of Clayface are set to be portrayed by 34-year-old Welsh actor Tom Rhys Harries, who is admittedly not an actor I would have seen landing this lead role in a hundred years.
But just because I’m shocked by it doesn’t mean I’m not also enthused as hell, especially with the complimentary message Gunn shared while making the announcement on Threads:
After a long and incredibly exhaustive search, we finally have our DCU Clayface in @tomrhysharries. 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.
Anyone who wants to be blown away themselves by Tom Rhys Harries' performances can look to his work in 2023's Kandahar opposite Gerard Butler or 2024's historical drama The Return with Ralph Fiennes. On the small screen, he popped up in Ncuti Gatwa's first Doctor Who season as Ricky September, and more recently voiced Prince Lucas in Netflix's animated series Wolf King.
Given that the bulk of his work has been in UK projects, U.S. audiences are perhaps most likely to have seen him in Apple TV+'s Suspicion opposite Big Bang vet Kunal Nayyar, and in Guy Ritchie's star-loaded 2019 film The Gentlemen. But regardless of how well or little anyone knew him before, Clayface is set to turn Harries into a superstar around the planet.
Especially if this project features the villain's biggest comic book foe, Batman, who has yet to be officially cast. Gunn very recently talked about the Caped Crusader being one of the biggest DCU issues to get right, so I wouldn't necessarily expect him to first pop up in a Rogues Gallery movie. But if Matt Reeves was also blown away by Harries' work, that stands to reason that the villain could breach continuities. What good is being able to change your appearance if you can't go from one canonical -verse to the next?
Gunn's update also seemingly straightens out some screenplay confusion over prior reports about rewrites from Drive screenwriter Hossein Amini. Considering how gung ho the filmmaker was about Mike Flanagan's script from the jump, it seemed odd that it would so quickly get reworked by a non-genre scribe. But it does seem as if Flanagan will remain the solo writer on the finished product.
The 2026 movie release I'm most pumped about, Clayface will hit theaters on September 11, 2026.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
