CLAYFACE Reportedly Eyeing THE HANDMAID'S TALE Actor Max Minghella For Key Role - Confirmed

CLAYFACE Reportedly Eyeing THE HANDMAID'S TALE Actor Max Minghella For Key Role - Confirmed

Max Minghella (The Handmaid's Tale, The Social Network) is reportedly being eyed for the role of John in DC Studios’ Clayface movie...

By MarkCassidy - Aug 11, 2025 03:08 PM EST
Filed Under: Clayface

UPDATE: Though the deal hasn't closed just yet, Deadline has confirmed that Minghella is in talks. THR notes that he will play "a Gotham City police detective who is dating the scientist [Naomi Ackie]."

Original story follows.

Following the recent news that Naomi Ackie (Blink Twice, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Mickey 17) is in talks to join the cast of DC Studios' Clayface movie, we're hearing that Max Minghella (The Social Network, The Handmaid's Tale) is also being eyed for a key role.

According to Nexus Point News, Minghella would play a character named John, "a detective and fiancé to Caitlin Bates, who’s suspicious of his fiancée’s relationship with Matt Hagen/Clayface."

We're not sure if Minghella is actually in negotiations as of yet, but Ackie is now believed to have been officially offered the role of Bates, while Tom Rhys Harries will play Hagen.

Though this is just a rumor for now, the source has been scooping the trades with major casting news for months at this stage, so we're inclined to believe this is on the level.

Clayface's story will reportedly "center 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. Screenwriter Hossein Amini, best known for prnning 2011’s Drive, was recently tapped to do some rewrites. 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.".  

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CaptainDC
CaptainDC - 8/4/2025, 9:30 PM
I cannot for the life of me understand why we need this movie. Just make a f'ikng Batman movie and sure, Clayface can be a villain. But enough of these c-tier character spin-offs that no one cares about.

Give us Batman, give us Robin, give us Nightwin... enough is enough.
movieguy18
movieguy18 - 8/4/2025, 11:31 PM
@CaptainDC - Agreed!
noname
noname - 8/4/2025, 11:58 PM
@CaptainDC - NO! Man, what's with you nerds? Y'all just want the same shit over and over again.

"We need to focus on Superman, Batman, The Flash and Wonder Woman."

How bout no? You just got all those characters. You act like the last time you saw these characters were in the eraly 2000's. WE LITERALLY JUST GOT ALL THESE MUTHRFUKERS WITH SNYDER!! ENOUGH!

This is the DC UNIVERSE. Focus on other shit. Those characters can wait. They'll always be important anyway. I like the fact that people are excited to see Peacemaker again, a character that no one even knew existed. Good. Not everything is fuking Batman.

Enough is enough!
DrServo
DrServo - 8/5/2025, 3:25 AM
@CaptainDC - There are those who DO care about them and are excited that "c+tier" characters are going to be explored. Batman has been done to death and there's already another one on the way. There's loads of DC characters that can be introduced before another Batman movie. At some point it's too much Batman and people get sick of him.
CaptainDC
CaptainDC - 8/5/2025, 9:21 AM
@noname - I get the desire to expand the DC Universe beyond the main four heroes, and in theory, I support that. But a Clayface solo movie is a solution in search of a problem.

Clayface is a compelling villain, not a lead. He's best when playing off Batman. Just like in Batman: The Animated Series, the most memorable Clayface stories were BATMAN-centric. The strength of that show was its balance: a consistent Batman lens, with deep dives into his rogues gallery and side characters, interconnected but standalone. That’s what made it one of the best iterations of the character to date.

And let’s be honest, we’re not exactly drowning in Batman content right now. The Batman was a great step, but we've never had a full Bat-family, a true ongoing Gotham story, or a world where someone like Clayface organically fits. You want obscure characters? Fine. But ground them in something fans actually care about: Batman, Robin, Nightwing, Batgirl, the whole ecosystem.

Peacemaker worked because it was irreverent, had a creative voice, and came after we got a clear take on him. Clayface? There's been zero setup. No emotional investment. No hero to contrast him with.

So no, it’s not "nerds wanting the same shit." It’s fans wanting DC to build cohesively, not throw darts at the wall
CaptainDC
CaptainDC - 8/5/2025, 9:24 AM
@DrServo - Sure, SOME people are excited to see lesser-known characters get the spotlight, and done well, that can be great. But let’s be honest: Clayface isn’t the breakout DC needs right now.

You say Batman’s been done to death, but we haven’t had a proper big-screen Batman with Robin in over 30 years. No Nightwing. No Batgirl in a real universe. No Bat-family dynamic. Just solo Batman films or ensemble Justice League messes. That’s not "too much Batman," that’s incomplete Batman.

We’re skipping over massive, beloved storylines and characters people actually want, just to push a niche villain with no established foundation. Clayface isn’t like Peacemaker, who had a unique tone, strong writing, and a hook. He’s not built to carry a film on his own. Without the emotional core of Batman, this becomes a disconnected experiment, one that likely flops at the box office and adds nothing meaningful to the larger DCU.

Introduce new characters, sure. But build around a strong spine first. Clayface works best in a Batman movie, not instead of one
noname
noname - 8/5/2025, 11:03 AM
@CaptainDC - And James is working on that. You want him to prematurely greenlight the introduction of the Bat-Family to appease fans who can't just.......................WAIT?

Gunn has said several times that "Clayface" was never even a part of the plan. Flanagan turned in a script they liked. They needed DCU content because everything else was in development - either being reworked or outright just canceled - so he greenlit it. I mean, what do you want the guy to do?

He's trying to prioritize great scripts over quantity. Isn't that what moviegoers ask for, actual good stories? Well, James is actually taking that to heart and people are still complaining.

Enough, dude. Just let him do something different
CaptainDC
CaptainDC - 8/5/2025, 11:16 AM
@noname - Clayface might have a solid script, but if it's the wrong story at the wrong timel, what does that mattter?

The DCU has no foundation yet. No Batman continuity. No Bat-Family. A Clayface solo film will not change that. It's a financial risk with no upside and adds nothing to a universe that does not exist.

There is an entire Bat-Family the general audience actually cares about and has waited decades to see. Start there. Build something that connects with more than just niche fans
noname
noname - 8/5/2025, 12:09 PM
@CaptainDC - You don't know if it's the wrong story at the wrong time! You don't know shizz! You're just assuming things.

It is not a financial risk. It's a low budget movie centered on a popular villain. It WILL make money. If The Substance made money, Clayface will make money bro. Come on.

No one gives a fuk about the Batfamily, sorry to break it to you. They care about Batman. They could give a fuk about seeing Robin or Nightwing or Damian. That's for you geeks to care about. General audience doesnt care.

Lilo and Stitch and Minecraft made a billion because those are popular properties people have nostalgia for. The Batfamily isnt nostalgic to average people, dogg.
CaptainDC
CaptainDC - 8/5/2025, 12:53 PM
@noname - Clayface is not a popular villain!!! Why are you pretending he is? The general audience does not know him, and there is no built-in demand. Hence zero attempt to ever include him in a live-action movie. That makes it a huge risk, especially when superhero films are underperforming unless they are tied to major characters or IP.

Youre' also completely wrong, the Bat-Family is not irrelevant. It has been ignored. Robin has not been in a serious film in 30 years. Everyone knows who Robin is. Nightwing and Batgirl have never even had a shot. Everyone knows who Batgirl is. Of course the general audience does not care. They have never been given a reason to. That is not proof no one wants them. That is proof WB dropped the ball.

You are comparing Clayface to Lilo and Stitch and Minecraft, billion-dollar brands with massive multi-generational recognition. Clayface is a tier-three villain from a property that has not even introduced its tier-one characters properly yet.

This is not about what fans want versus what geeks want. It is about what actually has potential. Clayface is a dead end.
soberchimera
soberchimera - 8/11/2025, 3:40 PM
@CaptainDC - Especially considering Eve Karlo in Penguin was an obvious nod to Basil Karlo.
DocSpock
DocSpock - 8/4/2025, 9:35 PM

Superman launches with mediocre/average box office results.

But YIPPEE!!!! Here comes Clayface!!

But still no Batman.

What a joke.

AmazingFILMporg
AmazingFILMporg - 8/4/2025, 10:29 PM
@DocSpock -


Superman and fantastic 4 had multiple films before flop and were terrible. They're also facing superhero fatigue. They're doing ok all things considered.
lazlodaytona
lazlodaytona - 8/4/2025, 10:50 PM
@DocSpock - Batman needs some time off
DocSpock
DocSpock - 8/4/2025, 11:23 PM
@AmazingFILMporg -

They are not doing okay. Barely breaking even(maybe?) with top shelf properties is BAD. Things are aiming down, not looking up.

DocSpock
DocSpock - 8/4/2025, 11:24 PM
@lazlodaytona -

He sure is freaking getting it.
noname
noname - 8/5/2025, 12:03 AM
@lazlodaytona - Batman, Wonder Woman, and The Flash need time off. I'd be more excited to see Snowflame at this point than Batman. Let these characters simmer for a bit while DC kills it with the appetizers.
LibraMatter
LibraMatter - 8/5/2025, 1:36 AM
@DocSpock - with all due respect, top shelf characters? Superman and Fantastic Four were the most Vanilla characters ever. The new movies have actually brought the best parts of them and added fun and humanity to them. Superman is a grounded and charming boyscout. The Fantastic Four are a grounded, family of genius-adventurers that are an Earth’s heroes that badass. To me they all have now become top shelf, finally.
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 8/5/2025, 4:11 AM
@DocSpock - We just had The Batman in 2022, The Flash (with multiple Batmen) in 2023 and both Joker 2 and The Penguin in 2024. That's plenty of Batman content.

Now there's Clayface next year (Batman adjacent) and The Batman part II the following year. So it's really only right now that there isn't any Batman.
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 8/5/2025, 4:14 AM
It's Batman's year off.

And if they'd have put that Batman cameo in The Sandman he wouldn't have even a year off.
Pathogen
Pathogen - 8/11/2025, 3:46 PM
@DocSpock - Fantastic Four is a top shelf property?? I liked the movie, but never thought much of the books
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