We recently learned that Tom Rhys Harries will play the title role in DC Studios' Clayface movie, and THR is now reporting that the project may have found its female lead.
Naomi Ackie (Blink Twice, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Mickey 17) is in talks to join the cast, but no details on her role have been disclosed. There's a chance she will play Matt Hagen's love-interest, Dr. Caitlin Bates, who did not originate in the comics.
Nexus Point News recently shared the following character breakdown: "CEO of a biotech startup seeking to create cutting edge medicine and medical technology. Bates sees Hagen as a way to grow her company and cure his condition. Throughout the process she falls in love with him while her fiance John grows suspicious of their relationship."
The trade does reveal (or rather, confirm) a few more plot details, noting that the story "centers on an ascending actor whose face is disfigured by a gangster. As a last resort, the actor turns to a fringe Elizabeth Holmes-style scientist for help. At first, the experiment is a successful but … well, it wouldn’t be a horror movie if the story ended right there, would it?"
Speak No Evil director James Watkins will helm the project, while Gunn will produce alongside Peter Safran and The Batman director Matt Reeves, with Lynn Harris and Chantal Nong serving as executive producers.
Mike Flanagan penned the script, but was reportedly unavailable to direct due to his commitments to a Carrie TV series and the new Exorcist movie. The project has been given an official release date of September 11, 2026.
Though Clayface will be set in the DCU, fans probably should expect many connections to the wider universe, and we'd be very surprised if Batman shows up or is even mentioned.
Safran shared a few new details on the Flanagan script, noting that Clayface is indeed going to be a full-on horror movie in the same vein as David Cronenberg's The Fly, and more recently, we learned that the movie will also take more than a little inspiration from Coralie Fargeat's body horror hit, The Substance.
"Clayface, you see, is a Hollywood horror story, according to our sources, using the most popular incarnation of the villain – a B-movie actor who injects himself with a substance to keep himself relevant only to find out that he can reshape his face and form, becoming a walking piece of clay.".