DC Studios has found its claymation: the handsome Tom Rhys Harries.
According to Variety, the Welsh actor known for his role in Apple TV’s Suspicion and Netflix’s White Lines has officially joined the cast as the lead role in the upcoming title focused on the Batman villain. Harries secured the role after beating out talents such as Jack O’Connell ( Sinners ), Leo Woodall ( The White Lotus ), Tom Blyth ( The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes ) and George Mackay ( 1917 ).
The film will be produced by Lynn Harris and Matt Reeves with production set to begin this fall, according to the wrap. The outlet also confirmed that Harriet’s iteration of Clayface will be based on Matt Hagen’s version of the character. Mike Flanagan wrote the initial draft of the film, with Hossein Amini writing the most recent Clayface draft; James Wilkins will direct the film for a September 11, 2026 release date.
The upcoming film represents a bold new direction for DC Studios following the crash and burn of its initial DC Extended Universe, which began with 2013’s Man of Steel and ended with 2023’s Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom . From the ashes has risen James Gunn’s new direction for the comic book-focused studio, which will be led by Superman, releasing in theaters on July 11 and followed by Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow which is scheduled to hit theaters on June 26, 2026.
“Clayface is totally DCU,” Gunn said during the DC Studios presentation earlier this year.
“The only thing that’s in Matt’s world, his crime saga that he’s talking about, is the Batman trilogy, the Penguin series, which is in that lane,” Safran later added. “So still under DC Studios, still under us. We have an incredible relationship with Matt, but those are the only things… it was important for Clayface to be part of the DCU. It’s an origin story for a classic Batman villain that we want to have in our world.”
Clayface debuted in Detective Comics #40 in June 1940 as a B-list horror film actor named Basil Karlo. Karlo, enraged after one of his films was remade, left the treasure to take up a life of crime, adopting his Clayface nickname based on a role he played on screen.
For some fans, the most memorable version of Clayface may be his appearance in the Batman: The Animated Series episodes, “Feat of Clay Part 1” and “Feat of Clay Part 2.” This version of Clayface is a man named Matt Hagen and has a more tragic backstory to boot, becoming the terrifying, shape-shifting villain who antagonizes Batman and Gotham City.
Flanagan’s first draft of the film was inspired by BTAS Clayface, so fans could be in for the royal treat if that version of the film hits theaters in 2026.
