Is Daniel Radcliffe Playing Batman Villain Clayface?
Daniel Radcliffe, best known for his role as the iconic, sometimes reckless, and wouldn’t-survive-without-Hermione boy wonder, Harry Potter, might once again step into a new and unexpected role (remember when he did Equus?), this time as the infamous Batman villain, Clayface, in the DC Universe. Moving from Hogwarts to Gotham is a bold career choice for Radcliffe, especially since we’ve come to know and love him as a hero.
Who is Clayface?
Forget about Joker, Penguin, and Bane as Batman’s villains, DC is now showing Clayface some love. Clayface, aka Basil Karlo, first appeared in Detective Comics #40. According to Movieweb, the film Clayface will follow Karlo, a B-list actor who injects himself with a substance that he hopes will save his career, but he undergoes a gruesome transformation when his body morphs into clay.
James Gunn Debunked Damiel Radcliffe Casting as Clayface
Despite fans getting excited with Daniel Radcliffe joining the DCU, James Gunn, co-chairman and co-CEO of DC Studios with Peter Safran, debunked the rumor immediately.
He posted on Instagram, “As we confirmed the other day, we’re closing a deal with James to direct. Because we don’t have a director yet, we haven’t even started the casting process. Daniel is great but we certainly haven’t talked to or considered him. So this one is 100% false.”
He is, of course, referring to James Watkins. According to The Hollywood Reporter, DC Studios chose James Watkins to direct the movie with a script from Mike Flanagan, and Matt Reeves will produce together with Lynn Harris, Gunn, and Safran.
Watkins’s work includes mostly horror films. Ironically, he directed The Woman in Black, a gothic supernatural horror movie that stars Daniel Radcliffe. The movie is about a young recently widowed lawyer who traveled to a remote village only to find out the village is being terrorized by the ghost of a scorned woman.
He also wrote and directed Eden Lake, starring Michael Fassbender, which follows a young couple spending their day at a lake only to be hunted by a gang of rowdy teenagers. The movie won Best Horror Film at the 2009 Empire Awards.
Watkins is also behind the 2024 psychological horror film Speak No Evil starring James McAvoy. The movie follows a family invited to stay at a farmhouse for the weekend, but the hosts soon cross boundaries with their passive-aggressive behavior until the situation escalates.
Given his filmography, directing Clayface is well within Watkins’ wheelhouse.
Clayface is scheduled for September 11, 2026.
