Naomi Ackie, the multi-faceted actress from Mickey 17 and Blink Twice, is joining the DCU in Clayface.
Ackie is in early talks to join the up-and-coming Welsh actor Tom Rhys Harries, who is playing the titular supervillain in the movie from Speak No Evil director James Watkins. Reading sessions took place in England last week with Ackie emerging as the choice. Formal negotiations are due to begin this week, according to several sources.
Mike Flanagan wrote the script for Clayface, a body horror thriller centered on a Batman villain known for his ability to alter his appearance.
The project is described as having shades and structure of The Fly, David Cronenberg’s 1986 that starred Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis and centered on the tragic relationship between a scientist who becomes fused with the DNA of a fly and the journalist writing about his discovery.
Clayface, which sources have said will have a budget in the mid-$40 million range, 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. At first, the experiment is a successful but … well, it wouldn’t be a horror movie if the story ended right there, would it?
The film is already dated for Sept. 11, 2026, one of the surprise early entries of the James Gunn and Peter Safran DC-era, coming in ahead of better-known characters like Wonder Woman. The Batman director Matt Reeves will produce, along with Lynn Harris and Gunn and Safran.
Ackie portrayed pop icon Whitney Houston in the 2022 biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody and also starred opposite Channing Tatum in last year’s horror thriller Blink Twice. The English actress is currently in theaters with Sorry, Baby, the festival hit that A24 scooped up out of Sundance. Her upcoming credits include Netflix mystery movie The Thursday Murder Club that stars Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan as well as the Boots Riley movie I Love Boosters.
She is repped by CAA, Range and Peikoff Mahan.