James Gunn’s Superman may be relaunching DC on the big screen, but a lot of very obscure projects have also been greenlit including Sgt. Rock directed by Luca Guadagnino and Clayface from Midnight Mass’ Mike Flanagan.
It’s been confirmed for a while that Clayface was pushing forward for DC Studios and is set in the Superman canon, but The InSneider has come up with the rumor of who DC may want to star in the film. According to the site, one Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter, Miracle Workers) is being eyed to play the lead of Clayface, Basil Karlo.
The movie has been described as a body-horror film, and will focus on a member of Batman’s Rogues Gallery. There have been multiple takes on Clayface over the years, but one of the most consistent things about him is that he’s a shapeshifter that can manage to take any form and copy any person. If he needs to get violent, he’ll also morph his hands into all kinds of weapons and grow a towering height.
The 2004 Batman series gives a twist to the Clayface character by making him a former cop that’s transformed by the Joker:
It’s also part of his backstory that he’s an actor, and sometimes he’s also written to have a huge ego. Here’s the description of the movie from IMDb:
A shape-shifting creature made of magical clay haunts Gotham City, alternating between villain and ally of Batman. Multiple tragic figures have taken on the Clayface mantle over the years.
Admittedly, Radcliffe does seem to like these more artsy, obscure roles after his Potter days, and I think he’s a great talent to have for a DC movie that’s more on the experimental side. We know Radcliffe can play funny, but I’d love to see him go full horror on the big screen (and no, Horns doesn’t count).
Clayface from director James Watkins is expected to hit theaters on Sept. 11, 2026.
