Clayface (film)

Development

In January 2021, filmmaker Mike Flanagan publicly expressed interest in making a standalone film focused on the DC Comics character Clayface.^[10] A fan of the character's portrayal in the Batman: The Animated Series two-part episode "Feat of Clay" (1992), in which he was voiced by Ron Perlman,^[11] Flanagan wanted the project to be a horror film that was also a thriller and a tragedy.^[10] He previously discussed making a "horror-leaning" Clayface film for the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) franchise in a general meeting with DC Films producer Jon Berg. Flanagan felt the meeting "kind of went nowhere",^[12][13] and said DC did not "bite on" his idea, but he was ready to commit to the project at any time.^[14]

Discovery, Inc. and Warner Bros.' parent company WarnerMedia—the owner of DC—merged in April 2022 to become Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), led by president and CEO David Zaslav. The new company was expected to restructure DC Entertainment and Zaslav began searching for an equivalent to Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige to lead the new subsidiary.^[15] Writer/director James Gunn and producer Peter Safran were announced as the co-chairs and co-CEOs of the newly formed DC Studios at the end of October 2022.^[16] A week after starting their new roles, the pair had begun planning a new DC Universe (DCU) that would be a "soft reboot" of the DCEU.^[17][18][19] By the time they were hired, filmmaker Matt Reeves was meeting with directors and writers about multiple potential film and television spin-offs related to his standalone DC film The Batman (2022). These projects were in early development and centered on members of Batman's rogues gallery, such as Clayface.^[20] The Batman and its spin-offs were expected to be kept separate from the new DCU shared universe under the "DC Elseworlds" label.^[21][22]

In March 2023, Flanagan and his Intrepid Pictures partner Trevor Macy met with Gunn and Safran to pitch a Clayface film in which the character would not be portrayed as a villain like he is in the comics. At that time, the character was expected to appear in Reeves's The Batman: Part II (2027) but Flanagan did not pitch his project as being connected to Reeves's films. It was unclear at the time whether the film would be part of the DCU or the Elseworlds label if it moved forward.^[23][13] Flanagan said the report was "entirely speculative",^[24] and in May, he added that a Clayface film was not in development and he was participating in the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike.^[25] In August, the film was reported to be in development with Flanagan as writer and director. Reeves, Gunn, and Safran were listed as producers.^[26] Clayface was introduced to the DCU in the first season of the animated series Creature Commandos (2024–25), the first DCU project to be released, with Alan Tudyk providing the character's voice after previously doing so for a different version of Clayface in the non-DCU animated series Harley Quinn (2019–present).^[27]

DC Studios officially greenlit Clayface in December 2024,^[28] as part of the DCU. Gunn explained that he had not planned to make a film about Clayface, but was won over by Flanagan's pitch and subsequent script drafts.^[29] Filming was expected to begin in early 2025 and the studio was searching for a different director due to Flanagan's commitments to his Exorcist film (2027) and a Carrie miniseries.^[28][23] Flanagan said he enjoyed developing the project with Reeves, and then with Gunn and Safran, and this was the first time in his career where he had to leave a project he was passionate about due to scheduling concerns.^[30] Several days after the greenlight was revealed, the studio scheduled the film for release on September 11, 2026. Gunn, Safran, and Reeves were confirmed to be producing alongside Lynn Harris of Reeves's company 6th & Idaho Motion Picture Company.^[31] The film was intended to be produced on a "stripped down" budget of around $40 million.^[32][3] Safran said the film would not have a campy tone and instead compared it to the horror film The Fly (1986).^[33]

Pre-production

DC Studios was eyeing J. A. Bayona to direct the film by the end of 2024.^[34] The studio was set to hear pitches from potential directors in the week of February 17, 2025, including James Watkins. Casting had begun by then, and the director was expected to be involved in that process once they were hired.^[35][34] Demián Rugna was also approached, but declined because he was not familiar with the character and was not interested in making a superhero film.^[36] Anthony D'Alessandro and Justin Kroll at Deadline Hollywood reported that Jeff Wadlow was also on the list of potential directors,^[35] but Aaron Couch and Borys Kit of The Hollywood Reporter said Wadlow was never in the mix. They added that the film was considering potential production locations in North America, unlike other DC Studios films that were based in the United Kingdom, due to its lower budget. The film was described as a "Hollywood horror story" about the original incarnation of Clayface,^[34][1] and was expected to be set in both Hollywood and Gotham City. It was unclear whether filming would take place in Los Angeles following the January 2025 Southern California wildfires.^[37] Watkins entered negotiations to direct on February 21 after he gave a final presentation to Gunn the day before.^[1]

A few days after Watkins's selection was revealed, Gunn and Safran confirmed that he was in talks to direct, casting was underway, and the film would be part of the DCU's Chapter One: Gods and Monsters slate. They were aiming to start filming in the middle of 2025. Safran called it "an origin story for a classic Batman villain that we want to have" in the DCU, and Gunn hoped it would work for horror fans who were not interested in DC, describing it as a body horror film. He said Tudyk would not reprise his role as Clayface, despite Gunn's intention to have the same actors portraying characters across different mediums, because the character was not Tudyk's "primary role" in the DCU; Tudyk primarily voiced Alex Sartorius / Doctor Phosphorus in Creature Commandos.^[38][37][39] Gunn also stated the film's events occurred prior to that of Superman (2025), and that its standalone story would also be "very connected" to the overarching DCU narrative.^[40] Later in February, journalist Jeff Sneider reported that Daniel Radcliffe was one of two actors eyed to portray Clayface in the film,^[41] but Gunn said Radcliffe was not being considered.^[42] The next month, Sneider reported that another writer had joined the film to perform a "significant pass" on Flanagan's script.^[43]

By April 2025, the start of filming was pushed to that October.^[44] Hossein Amini, who co-created the television series McMafia (2018) with Watkins, was revealed to be rewriting the script a month later.^[45][46] Flanagan confirmed that he was no longer involved and said he expected Watkins to "make it [his] own", but he hoped the film would remain true to the spirit of what he originally wanted it to be.^[11] Tom Blyth, George MacKay, Jack O'Connell, and Leo Woodall were in the running and read for the title role in early June,^[47] but Gunn and Safran "weren't ready to pull the trigger" on any of those actors and decided to widen the search.^[3] Later that month, Gunn announced that relative newcomer Tom Rhys Harries had been cast as Clayface "after a long and incredibly exhaustive search".^[48] Amini completed multiple drafts by then,^[49] and Gunn said the script was entirely Flanagan's story with minor changes being made to finalize the shooting script.^[50] The film was intended to receive an R-rating from the Motion Picture Association.^[51] The character Matt Hagen, the second incarnation of Clayface in the comics, was expected to appear.^[52] Filming was set to take place at DC Studios' production hub at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden in England.^[49][53] By early July, filming had reportedly been moved up to start the following month.^[54]

In the week of July 14, reading sessions for the film's female lead were held in England. Naomi Ackie emerged as the top choice for the role and was set to enter formal talks the next week.^[2][55] Her casting as the scientist who creates Clayface was confirmed a month later, when Max Minghella was in final talks to join the cast as a Gotham City police detective who is dating Ackie's character.^[5] James Price was the production designer, after previously working with Watkins on his film Speak No Evil (2024),^[56][57] while Keith Madden was the costume designer.^[58]

Filming

Principal photography began on August 31, 2025, in Liverpool, England,^[59] under the working title Corinthians.^[60] Rob Hardy was the cinematographer, returning from the DCU film Supergirl (2026).^[61] Filming was previously expected to start in the middle of 2025,^[38] and then in October.^[44] Location shooting in Liverpool, where scenes for The Batman were also shot,^[7] was taking place in the city centre. Gotham-themed vehicles were stored at the former Merseyside Police headquarters.^[62] Scenes on August 31 were filmed in Derby Square with the Law Courts building standing in for Gotham Hospital,^[59] while part of North John Street was made to look like the Gotham Docks,^[7] and the Liverpool Central Library doubled for Gotham City Crown Court.^[4] Eddie Marsan was revealed to be part of the cast.^[7] Additional filming locations in Liverpool included Pier Head and the old Birkenhead Tunnel. Filming also took place in the nearby town of Wallasey, including at the Seacombe Ferry Terminal. On September 11, filming took place on the Marine Promenade outside Adventureland in the suburb of New Brighton. A house on Tollemache Street was dressed as an American home for filming.^[63] Soundstage work took place at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden in England.^[49] Filming wrapped on November 1.^[64]

Post-production

Jon Harris, a frequent collaborator of Watkins', is editing the film.^[65][57] In January 2026, Gunn said Watkins was finalizing his director's cut and the producers would weigh in on it when it was done.^[66] The following month, Warner Bros. pushed back the film's release date to October 23, 2026.^[67] It was intended to serve as a Halloween event film similar to Halloween Kills (2021) and Black Phone 2 (2025). At that time, David Dencik was revealed to have a role in Clayface, after previously working with Watkins on McMafia.^[8] With the release of the teaser trailer in April 2026, Nancy Carroll and Joshua James were revealed to be appearing in the film.^[9][68]