Max Minghella in Talks for DC Studios’ ‘Clayface’

‘The Social Network’s Max Minghella in Talks For DC Studio’s ‘Clayface’

Minghella, who also appeared in TV’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’, is circling one of the key roles in the new movie about the classic Batman character.

(Left) Max Minghella in 'Spiral'. Photo: Lionsgate. (Right) DC Comics' Clayface. Photo: DC Comics.

Preview:

Max Minghella is in talks to join the Clayface movie.
James Watkins is in the director’s chair.
Tom Rhys Harries has the lead role.

As pre-production continues on the movie, the cast for DC Studios’ horror-inflected, Batman-adjacent ‘Clayface’ is growing.

Max Minghella, currently best known for his role on ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’, is close to a deal to join the movie, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Tom Rhys Harries has the lead role, while James Watkins, who last directed ‘Speak No Evil’, is overseeing the movie, which has seen script work from Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini.

Naomi Ackie is also recently joined the lead ensemble.

Who is Clayface exactly?

DC Comics' Clayface. Photo: DC Comics.

If you’re not up to date on the muddy man-monster, here’s your basic briefing on Clayface as a character.

Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, the original Clayface, Basil Karlo, appeared in Detective Comics #40, published in June 1940, as a B-list actor who began a life of crime using the identity of a villain that he had portrayed in a horror film.

Kane stated that the character was partially inspired by the 1925 Lon Chaney version of ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ and that his name was derived from Boris Karloff and Basil Rathbone.

The Reporter’s sources say the story focuses on an ascending actor (Harries) whose face is disfigured by a gangster. As a last resort, the actor turns to a fringe Elizabeth Holmes-style scientist (Ackie) for help. Minghella will play a Gotham City detective dating Ackie’s character.

Where else can we see Max Minghella?

(L to R) Max Minghella, Olivia Thirlby, Emile Hirsch and Rachael Taylor in 'The Darkest Hour'. Photo: Summit Entertainment.

Besides ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’, Minghella is known for the likes of ‘The Social Network’, ‘Babylon’, ‘The Internship’ and ‘Agora’.

He’s also a directed, having made ‘Teen Spirit’ and the upcoming ‘Shell’, which premiered last year at the Toronto International Film Festival and is in cinemas at the end of the week. The film stars Elisabeth Moss, Kate Hudson and Kaia Gerber.

Minghella most recently worked on the fourth season of HBO series ‘Industry’, which should be on screens next year.

When will the Clayface movie be in theaters?

The movie has a scheduled plan for a UK shoot at Leavesden Studios in place, and Warner Bros. and DC Studios are confirming a September 11th, 2026 theatrical release for ‘Clayface’.