Naomi Ackie may be the female lead in Clayface
Back in 2021, filmmaker Mike Flanagan let it be known on social media that he was interested in making a “standalone horror/thriller/tragedy” movie that would center on the Clayface character. A while after that, he confirmed that he had met with veteran DC movie producer Jon Berg to pitch a “horror-leaning” take on Clayface, as well as ideas for the DC properties Scarecrow, Justice League Dark, and Constantine. The meeting “kind of went nowhere.” But then, in March of 2023, Deadline broke the news that Flanagan had scheduled another Clayface pitch meeting, this time with DC Studios bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran. And at the end of last year, it was announced that Flanagan is officially writing a Clayface movie that will be part of the DC Universe film franchise that’s being overseen by Gunn and Safran. A few months ago, Speak No Evil director James Watkins was hired to take the helm, and last month we learned that Tom Rhys Harries (Kandahar) had signed on to star in the film. Now, Deadline reports that Naomi Ackie (I Want to Dance With Somebody) is the top choice to play the female lead. She had been offered the role, but it’s early in the dealmaking process, so we’ll have to wait and see if she takes the offer.
During an interview with i09 a while back, Gunn admitted that he had no intention of making a Clayface movie as part of the DCU until he saw Flanagan’s script. He said, “I didn’t plan on making a Clayface movie. Mike came in. He pitched this wonderful idea. I was like, ‘Damn, I can’t believe you got me to want to make a Clayface movie.’ But he’s got to write the script and who knows how that’s going to work. He goes and he writes the script. First draft is great. Second draft is even better. And then I’m like, ‘Let’s do it.’ So we found a place for it because if there’s quality stuff, we can find a way to work it in.“ Batman: The Animated Series made its debut back in 1992, and the fourth and fifth episodes of the show were a two-parter called Feat of Clay, which showed “the transformation of a disfigured actor into the villain known as Clayface.” In an interview with ComicBook.com, Flanagan confirmed that his script was inspired by those episodes of Batman: The Animated Series. Surprisingly, since Clayface was only greenlit based on the strength of Flanagan’s script, Drive writer Hossein Amini was brought in to do what has been referred to as a complete rewrite. Gunn has assured that the script is still “all Mike’s story” and any changes are minor.
Deadline reminds us, “Clayface is shape-shifting villain in the Batman comics and got his introduction as part of Detective Comics #40 in June 1940. The original Clayface was a moderately successful actor who adopted the identity of a character he’d portrayed in a horror pic after turning to crime. Clayface has a body seemingly made out of clay and has appeared over the years in various films, series, animated works, video games and other forms of media.”
While Harries will be playing the title character, it’s not clear who Naomi Ackie would be playing in Clayface, if she signs on. In addition to I Want to Dance With Somebody, Ackie’s previous credits include Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the Netflix series Master of None, Zoë Kravitz’s Blink Twice, Bong Joon Ho’s Mickey 17, and A24’s Sorry, Baby.
Clayface is being produced by James Gunn and Peter Safran, as well as Matt Reeves and Lynn Harris. Filming will take place at Warner Bros. Leavesden studio in the UK.
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