Principal photography on Clayface is currently underway in Liverpool, England and set photos making the rounds on social media provide a first (unofficial) look at the film’s lead actor in costume and the DCU’s Gotham City. These images also revealed additional casting for the James Watkins-directed, Mike Flanagan-scripted body horror film and have confirmed that an obscure Batman villain will appear in it.
Clayface will be the first live-action depiction of Gotham City in the DCU, but when exactly the film is set is unclear from the set photos. Many of the cars spotted on the sets appear to be from the 1970s, yet these Gotham City TV news vans are more contemporary.
The Daily Mail published photos of actor Tom Rhys Harries appearing in-character, bloodied and bandaged. According to THR, Clayface “centers on an ascending actor whose face is disfigured by a gangster. As a last resort, the actor turns to a fringe Elizabeth Holmes-style scientist for help.”
Just for the sake of speculation, what if those aforementioned period cars are for a 1970s-era project Harries’ character was filming when he suffered his facial injuries?
The gangster who injures the actor is apparently Jimmy “Red” McCoy, a minor gangster character from Batman #4 published in 1940. Set photos show the frontpages of the Gotham Gazette and the Gotham Herald chronicling the case of “Red” McCoy.
Just to befuddle fans, though, the logo of this Gotham Gazette is in the same style as the one depicted in Matt Reeves’ Batman universe, specifically The Penguin, which is considered Elseworlds in the canon of the DCU.
Gunn previously explained why Clayface belongs in the DCU and not Matt Reeves’ Batman Epic Crime Saga. “It was important that Clayface be part of the DCU. It’s an origin story for a classic Batman villain that we want to have in our world,” Gunn said in February. “It was very outside of the grounded non-super metahuman characters in Matt’s world.”
Meanwhile, an X account belonging to @JackkDoylee shared a series of set photos and videos, including this map of Gotham City that confirms that Wayne Manor, Wayne Tower and Wayne Industries already exist in Clayface’s timeline.
Other onlookers’ photos of props and set decoration offer small details about the DCU’s Gotham City. Here’s a Gotham license plate, a GCPD squad car, an homage to Clayface co-creator Bill Finger, and a nod to Batman artist Jim Aparo included on this curious missing person poster.
Set photos also revealed that V for Vendetta and Ray Donovan actor Eddie Marsan has joined the cast in an unspecified role. Marsan can be seen filming what appears to a press conference outside a hospital. Perhaps he’s playing a GCPD detective or an elected official?
Clayface, which co-stars Naomie Ackie and Max Minghella, opens in theaters September 2026.
