‘We were blown away by this guy’: Clayface lands unlikely star for its lead role as DC’s budget horror movie continues to take shape

• DC Studios has found the lead star for its Clayface movie
• Surprisingly, the Batman villain won’t be played by Alan Tudyk
• Tudyk voiced Clayface in season 1 of Creature Commandos

DC Studios has revealed which actor will star in its forthcoming Clayface movie – and, surprisingly, it won’t be Alan Tudyk.

First reported by Deadline and later confirmed by studio co-chief James Gunn, the budget horror film’s titular character will be portrayed by Tom Rhys Harries. Taking to Instagram, Gunn said it had been a “long and exhaustive search” to find the right person to play the shapeshifter, but he and fellow producer Matt Reeves eventually settled on Harries after they were “blown away” by his auditions.

Clayface will be the third film released as part of the DC Universe’s (DCU) first line-up of movies and TV shows. Currently, it’s set to be released on September 11, 2026, so it’ll arrive three months after Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow – or, as Gunn recently confirmed, the DCU’s second movie that’s now known by its much simpler title in Supergirl.

Little is known about Clayface‘s story. However, it’ll be directed by James Watkins (Speak No Evil) and its original script was penned by horror auteur Mike Flanagan. According to Deadline, Hossein Amini conducted some rewrites for the DCU Chapter One film, but Gunn has confirmed (via Threads) that the vast majority of Flanagan’s initial screenplay has been retained.

Principal photography is set to begin this October, according to The Wrap’s Umberto Gonzalez. Per The Hollywood Reporter, Gunn and company are looking to make it for a modest $40 million, too.

Why isn’t Alan Tudyk playing Clayface in his live-action DC comic book movie?

Harries’ hiring has certainly raised some eyebrows among DC fans.

There’s no question that the Welsh actor is a talented up-and-comer – indeed, he’s proved as much in Apple TV+ series Suspicion, Netflix show White Lies, and Guy Ritchie’s 2019 crime comedy flick The Gentlemen. More recently, Harries portrayed Ricky September in Doctor Who episode ‘Dot and Bubble’, which, per its 94% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes, is one of the highest-rated installments of the Ncuti Gatwa era.

Nonetheless, fans have expressed surprised that prolific actor Alan Tudyk, who voiced Clayface in season 1 of Creature Commandos, aka the DCU’s first TV series, on Max, wasn’t tapped to portray Clayface‘s titular character. After all, some people have pointed out that Gunn previously said actors who are cast in the DCU would play their character in live-action and animated projects.

Gunn, though, has tried to clear up any confusion about Harries’ casting. Responding to a fan on Threads about why Tudyk wasn’t chosen, Gunn wrote: “I said we would plan on using primary actors whenever we can. I’ve also never said if the two characters are the same. (I’ve also never said they’re not).”

It’s the final part of his response that’s most telling. There have been eight incarnations of Clayface in DC Comics, so it’s entirely possible that Tudyk and Harries will portray different versions of the villainous metahuman in the DCU. We’ll learn if that’s the case once Clayface has taken shape and landed in theaters next year.

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