Though cameras don't seem to be rolling just yet, production crews are in the process of setting up to begin shooting DC Studios' Clayface movie in Liverpool, England, and these latest set photos come with some intriguing first-looks.
The cover of the Gotham Gazette reveals that Jimmy "Red" McCoy will appear in the movie. McCoy was a low-level Batman baddie back in the day, and is highly unlikely to be the main villain. Nexus Point News' Apocalyptic Horseman believes Clayface's big bad will be a more recognizable DC Comics mob boss, with a bigger-name actor in the role.
The McCoy story is also highlighted on the cover of the Gotham Herald, along with an image of what looks a lot like someone with facial a disfigurement, or possibly wearing some kind of mask. The accompanying text is too blurry to make out, but could this be our first look at Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen, aka Clayface?
Check out the photos at the links below, and let us know what you think.
Clayface will also star Naomi Ackie (Blink Twice, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Mickey 17) as Caitlin Bates, and Max Minghella (The Social Network, The Handmaid's Tale) as her fiancé, John.
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 James 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 shouldn't 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.".