Fans of DC’s Clayface will no doubt be ecstatic to know that Naomi Ackie, the acclaimed actress from Mickey 17 and Blink Twice, will be making her entry into the DC Universe, bringing her multifaceted acting chops to join the shape-changing supervillain in the upcoming Clayface.
Ackie played Nasha Barridge, opposite Robert Pattinson’s Mickey Barnes, in Mickey 17 (2025), as the wildly unfiltered and protective love interest of the titular Mickey. In addition, she also portrayed renowned American pop singer Whitney Houston in the 2022 biographical film I Wanna Dance with Somebody (2022), garnering widespread praise despite the film’s mixed reviews. Most notably, she won a BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in The End of the F***ing World (2019).
With a wealth of experience under her belt, Ackie has been eyed to bring her stellar acting chops to Clayface, alongside the promising new Welsh star Tom Rhys Harries (The Gentlemen), who will play Matt Hagen aka Clayface. After reading sessions took place in England last week, Ackie emerged as the front runner, and talks to finalise her casting will begin this week.
Written by Mike Flanagan — the filmmaker behind a slew of horror work, such as Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016) and The Fall of the House of Usher (2023) — and directed by James Watkins, the director of Speak No Evil, the upcoming Clayface is set to be a body-horror thriller that draws inspiration from 1986’s The Fly, the box office hit and classic science-fiction body-horror film helmed by the esteemed David Cronenberg (The Shrouds, Videodrome).
Sources have reported that Clayface will have a budget in the mid-US$40 million range, with its focus on a breakout actor who ends up getting his face mutilated by a gangster. Left with no choice, the rising talent turns to a scientist for help, partaking in a risky experiment that initially appears to be successful. While additional plot details have not yet been revealed, long-term comic book fans will know that this is an experiment that ultimately goes awry, leading to Hagen transforming into the iconic supervillain from Batman’s rogues gallery.
With Clayface slated for release on 11 September 2026, ahead of other more prominent characters like Wonder Woman, it looks like this early entry into the DC Universe will be one to watch.
Conversation with Ting Wei is like chatting with a weird AI bot programmed only with One Piece lore and theories, sitcom quotes and other miscellaneous pop culture references. When he’s not sleeping, he’s highly likely reading manga. In fact, the only thing he reads more than manga is the Bible, and it’s honestly pretty close.
Kevin Low
