DC Studios is in early talks with actor Naomi Ackie (“Sorry, Baby,” “Blink Twice”) for the female lead role in “Clayface,” its 2026 horror film starring Tom Rhys Harries, Variety has confirmed.
The horror film — written by Mike Flanagan and directed by James Watkins — focuses on the titular Batman villain, who starts out as an actor who, after his face is disfigured, turns in desperation to a highly experimental medical procedure. As so often happens with highly experimental medical procedures in comic book movies, things don’t go quite as planned, and the actor’s body transforms into a clay-like material that can reshape itself into anyone’s appearance.
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Ackie’s star has been steadily rising over the last few years, with supporting roles in 2019’s “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” and 2025’s “Mickey 17” and “Sorry, Baby”; she also played Whitney Houston in the 2022 biopic “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” and headlined Zoë Kravitz’s 2024 directorial debut “Blink Twice.” She’ll next appear alongside Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan and Ben Kingsley in the Netflix film “The Thursday Murder Club.”
Set to premiere on September 11, 2026, “Clayface” will be DC Studios’ third movie, following this month’s “Superman” and “Supergirl” with Milly Alcock, premiering June 2026. The film is seen internally as an example of DC’s ambition to expand its reach beyond standard superhero fare, with genres (and smaller budgets) not generally typical for comic book adaptations. “The Batman” filmmaker Matt Reeves is producing with Lynn Harris through their company 6th & Idaho Productions.
Deadline first noted Ackie’s casting.
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