DC character Clayface is getting a live action movie written by Mike Flanagan (The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass, Doctor Sleep, Life of Chuck) and directed by James Watkins (Eden Lake, The Woman in Black, Speak No Evil), and Deadline reports this morning that Welsh actor Tom Rhys Harries (Slaughterhouse Rulez) has landed the lead role.
The 34-year-old actor has also appeared in the television shows “Jekyll and Hyde” (2014), “Midsomer Murders,” “White Lines,” “Suspicion” and “Doctor Who,” as well as films including Hot Property, The Gentlemen, Kandahar, How Kids Roll, and The Return.
The Flanagan-penned Clayface movie is currently undergoing revisions, with writer Hossein Amini (Drive) coming on board to revise the script. Flanagan had recently revealed that his script was heavily inspired by the character’s appearance in “Batman: The Animated Series,” but there’s no telling how much that original script is going to change along the way.
For what it’s worth, Mike Flanagan’s script was described as “a Hollywood horror tale centering on 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,” with Flanagan describing the project back in 2021 as “horror/thriller/tragedy.”
The Clayface character was introduced by DC Comics in Detective Comics #40 way back in June 1940, an adversary of Batman with a clay-like form and shapeshifting abilities. The character has been played on screen in both animation and live action, with actors including Alan Tudyk, Ron Perlman, Brian McManamon, and Lorraine Burroughs having played the role.
