Clayface Set Photos Unveil Gotham, Bandaged Lead, and Rare Batman Villain

Filming for Clayface, one of the most unusual and daring projects in the DCU slate, is in full swing in Liverpool, and early set photos have given fans their first peek into the film’s grim and atmospheric Gotham City. Unlike the glossy backdrops of past Batman movies, this Gotham has a raw, lived-in texture – somewhere between 1970s grit and modern-day unease – that seems tailor-made for a body-horror origin story. The images capture Tom Rhys Harries in costume as the lead, his character bloodied and swathed in bandages, already hinting at the disturbing transformation at the heart of the film.

Directed by James Watkins and written by Mike Flanagan, Clayface isn’t a Batman film per se, but rather a psychological horror story rooted in Gotham’s mythology.

Harries’ character, an ambitious actor whose career is cut short after a violent attack by gangster Jimmy “Red” McCoy, seeks salvation in the unlikeliest of places: a fringe scientist with dubious methods. Fans familiar with Batman lore will recognize McCoy as a deep-cut villain introduced back in 1940’s Batman #4, a nod that signals how deep the film may dig into the comics’ archives.

Interestingly, the set is littered with details that tease layers of history and ambiguity. Cars that appear to hail from the 1970s contrast against more modern TV news vans, leaving audiences speculating about the actual timeline. Is the retro aesthetic tied to the film industry world Harries’ character inhabits, or is Gotham itself a city that’s frozen in a perpetual mix of eras? Even the Gotham Gazette props muddy the waters by using the same logo seen in Matt Reeves’ Elseworlds universe, inviting debate about just how connected or disconnected these projects are meant to be.

Other props provide delightful Easter eggs: a GCPD squad car, a Gotham license plate, posters nodding to co-creator Bill Finger and artist Jim Aparo, and a missing person notice that’s bound to spark wild theories online. Even more intriguing, a large map of Gotham has surfaced, confirming the canonical presence of Wayne Manor, Wayne Tower, and Wayne Industries within this continuity. It’s a clear signal from James Gunn’s DCU leadership that Gotham won’t just be a backdrop here – it’s being positioned as a full, interconnected setting ripe for future stories.

Perhaps the most surprising bit of casting news from the set is the involvement of veteran actor Eddie Marsan, spotted filming a press conference outside a hospital. Whether he plays a police figure, a politician, or something more sinister remains to be seen, but Marsan’s presence hints at weighty performances beyond Harries’ transformative role.

Some fans are questioning whether a Clayface solo film makes sense without Batman, but Gunn has been clear: this is an origin story that needed to live in the main DCU, not in Reeves’ grounded crime saga. The logic is simple – Clayface is a metahuman horror figure, and his presence opens doors to larger, more supernatural storytelling in the shared universe. By keeping the budget reportedly in the $30–40 million range, Warner Bros. is also signaling confidence in a smaller-scale but creatively bold approach – something many fans have wished Marvel would attempt with its sprawling franchises.

In the end, Clayface may prove to be more than a horror spin-off; it could be the eerie prologue to a much larger Gotham saga, one that eventually folds the Dark Knight himself into the narrative. For now, the set photos alone have ignited speculation, excitement, and no shortage of heated debate about what the DCU is building next.