DC Studios has officially found its Clayface. Welsh actor Tom Rhys Harries is stepping into the muddy shoes of the iconic Batman villain in an upcoming solo film directed by James Watkins, known for Speak No Evil. This marks one of the first major casting decisions for the next wave of DC films under the leadership of James Gunn and Peter Safran.
Harries may not be a household name yet, but he’s no stranger to the screen. He starred alongside Uma Thurman in Suspicion on Apple TV+ and appeared in projects like Kandahar, The Gentleman, and the indie drama The Return. He also has strong stage credentials, having made his West End debut in Mojo opposite Rupert Grint and Ben Whishaw.
Landing this role wasn’t a walkover. Harries reportedly beat out a competitive shortlist of top British talent, including Jack O’Connell (28 Years Later), Tom Blyth (The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes), Leo Woodall (The White Lotus), and George MacKay (1917). That’s a pretty big vote of confidence in Harries’ range, especially considering Clayface is a character who literally transforms himself.
The film is expected to shoot at Warner Bros’ Leavesden studio in the UK and is next in line after Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, which is set to hit theaters in September 2026. Matt Reeves, director of The Batman, is on board as producer alongside Gunn, Safran, and Lynn Harris. Chantal Nong will serve as executive producer. The script went through several hands, starting with a draft by The Life of Chuck director Mike Flanagan and refined by Drive and The Wings of the Dove writer Hossein Amini.
Clayface has a long and complicated history in DC Comics. First appearing in Detective Comics #40 back in 1940, the original version—Basil Karlo—was an actor turned killer who adopted the monstrous persona from a horror film he starred in. Over the years, different iterations of Clayface have appeared across media, from Batman: The Animated Series to the Arkham video games. A shape-shifting villain with tragic roots, Clayface has always been more than just a lump of animated sludge. He’s one of Batman’s more complex foes—equal parts performance and pain.
Casting Harries signals that this version of Clayface may lean into those emotional and psychological layers, something James Gunn has been praised for exploring in characters like Peacemaker and Rocket Raccoon. With Harries’ theater background and a director known for psychological horror, fans may be in for something darker and more introspective than your standard origin story.
This also continues DC Studios’ trend of giving characters their own space to breathe instead of cramming everyone into team-ups right away. With Gunn’s Superman on the way and Peacemaker season 2 likely to make waves at San Diego Comic-Con, DC is clearly moving forward with a focused, character-driven approach.
gfpods.com 
Leave a comment