DC's unlikely Clayface movie casts its lead actor after an "exhaustive search" as DC boss James Gunn says he and The Batman director Matt Reeves were "blown away" by the audition
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.
It's official: one of DC Studios' most unlikely films has found its lead actor, as Tom Rhys Harries has been cast as Clayface based on an audition that DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn says left him and The Batman director Matt Reeves "blown away."
"After a long and incredibly exhaustive search, we finally have our DCU Clayface in Tom Rhys Harries," Gunn says on social media. "Both Matt Reeves and I were just blown away by this guy, and can't wait for you to see this film, directed by James Watkins and written by Mike Flanagan."
Clayface initially joined the DC Universe slate thanks to the strength of Flanagan's script, which fast-tracked the film into development. A version of Clayface appeared in the Creature Commandos animated show, where he was voiced in grunts and roars by Alan Tudyk, though it's actually unclear whether the version of Clayface in the live-action film will be the same character in the show.
As it happens, there are actually numerous versions of Clayface in comics. The most famous is Matt Hagen, the second Clayface and the first to possess shapeshifting clay powers, thanks to his involvement in Batman: The Animated Series. The other most famous is Basil Karlo, the original Clayface, who started out as an actor driven to commit murder while in disguise before gaining clay powers of his own.
It's been rumored that a version of the Basil Karlo Clayface will be the villain of the long (long, long) awaited The Batman 2, with the Penguin streaming series introducing characters with connections to Karlo.
That said, none of that will have much bearing on how the DCU Clayface goes down, as it will take place in the core DC Universe movie continuity, while The Batman exists separately in its own world.
Clayface is set to be released on September 11, 2026, as part of DCU Chapter One: Gods and Monsters. For more, see our guide on how to watch DC movies in order, or keep up with upcoming DC movies and shows.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Pirates of the Caribbean star says there have "been talks" about reuniting the original cast for another movie: "We'll have to see where it lands"
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. It's been eight years since Orlando Bloom last played blacksmith-turned-sea captain Will Turner in Disney's swashbuckling series Pirates of the Caribbean. But there's a real chance he'll reprise in the future, the actor recently revealed -- and he wouldn't be the only one returning... While promoting his new Prime Video movie Deep Cover, Bloom appeared on British talk show This Morning, where he was asked by hosts Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley whether or not we'd ever see himself, Keira Knightley (who plays Will's partner Elizabeth Swann), and Johnny Depp (as Jack Sparrow) onscreen together again. "There's been all kinds of things. Who knows? There's been talk. I can't say anything at the moment, because I really don't know. They're definitely... I think they're trying to work out what it would all look like. I, personally, think it would be great to get the band back together. That would be great. But there are always different ideas, so we'll see where it lands." Bloom has appeared in four of the five Pirates of the Caribbean films so far, though his screentime has varied across them. He was one of the three main protagonists in The Curse of the Black Pearl, Dead Man's Chest, and At World's End, before he had a cameo role in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales in 2017. He was absent completely from 2011's Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Last we heard, there was a sixth Pirates of the Caribbean movie and a female-led spin-off starring Margot Robbie in the works, though updates on the latter project have been scarce -- and the Barbie actor actually claimed back in 2022 that it had been scrapped. "It's two different movies," producer Jerry Bruckheimer later told Entertainment Weekly in 2024. "We hope to get 'em both made, and I think Disney agrees they really want to make the Margot one, too." For more, check out our picks of the most exciting upcoming movies heading our way.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Who are the Illuminati?
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Faith in a secret society known as the Illuminati is one of the longest-running and most widespread conspiracy theories of our time. It has become a "byword for a corrupt elite" influencing the world, said indy100, and supposedly boasts Beyoncé, Madonna, Jay-Z and Donald Trump among its members. The name is "so powerful that it has begun to rule TikTok", becoming last year's "most talked-about counter-mainstream idea". It can be "pretty compelling" to believe the story that the "establishment is ruled by a corrupt elite and that we are but innocent pawns in their sinister game". But "that's all it is, a story". And it is one that the "stars themselves have shrugged off or even mischievously fuelled". While most of the rumours surrounding the Illuminati and its members are fiction, the group was at one time real – though its influence was not nearly as vast and enduring as modern conspiracists claim. The idea of an "illuminati", meaning "enlightened" or "illuminated", has been around since the 15th century, said author and academic Chris Fleming. Early groups included the Spanish Alumbrados (the "illuminated"), who believed people could "attain direct communion with God" and so could gain spiritual enlightenment without the need for traditional worship or the sacrament. Alleged sympathisers were said to include St Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit order, who was questioned by the Inquisition in 1527 over possible links. It was more than two centuries later that the illuminati as people understand it today began. In 1776, Adam Weishaupt, a professor of natural and canon law at the University of Ingolstadt, Bavaria, and a former Jesuit, founded a secret society that came to be called the Orden der Illuminati – the "Order of the Illuminati". To the outside world, Weishaupt appeared a "respectable professor", said National Geographic, but he had always had a "restless" mind. He was educated at Jesuit school and was an "avid" reader at home, "consuming" the latest books by French Enlightenment philosophers. Like many at the time, Weishaupt came to believe "the monarchy and the church were repressing freedom of thought", and that religious ideas were "no longer an adequate belief system to govern modern societies". He wanted to find "another form of 'illumination', a set of ideas and practices that could be applied to radically change the way European states were run". At first, he thought about joining the Freemasons, which was expanding across Europe, but became disillusioned. Instead, he decided to found his own society, "handpicking" five of his "most talented" students to become members, said the BBC. The original name was Bund der Perfektibilisten, or the "Covenant of Perfectibility", before he changed it to the Order of the Illuminati (literally the "Illuminated Ones"), to reflect the enlightened ideals of its educated members. The group's first meeting was in a forest in Ingolstodt, where they established the rules of the order. Rituals included the use of aliases for anonymity and the adoption of symbols, including their insignia: the Owl of Minerva, symbolising wisdom, sitting on top of a book. They also had three levels for members: novices, minervals and illuminated minervals, in reference to the Roman goddess of wisdom Minerva, "reflecting the order's aim to spread true knowledge, or illumination, about how society, and the state, might be reshaped", said National Geographic. From just a handful of members in 1776, the order quickly grew, numbering between 2,000 and 3,000 members by 1784, with lodges in Italy, France, Belgium, Holland, Denmark and Switzerland. Members included doctors, lawyers and intellectuals, with notable names said to include the German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, although this is disputed. But the society didn't last long. In 1785, Karl Theodor, Duke of Bavaria, outlawed secret groups, including the Illuminati. Two years later, the Duke declared an edict with harsher punishments for members, including the death penalty. From 1785 onwards, the "historical record contains no further activities of Weishaupt's Illuminati", said Britannica. Yet, the order has continued to figure "prominently in conspiracy theories for centuries". Conspiracy theories about the Illuminati began almost from the moment they were forced to disband, with its enemies claiming the group wanted to overthrow monarchs and priests and transform society. In what was "perhaps the world's first conspiracy theory", said the BBC, in 1797 Jesuit priest Abbé Augustin Barruel wrote a four-part history of the French Revolution, which he attributed to the secret work of the Illuminati and Freemasons. Because of this Barruel is "generally regarded as one of history's most famous conspiracy theorists", according to The Conversation. Across the Atlantic, the order was the "bogeyman" of the fledgling US republic, said The Associated Press. George Washington himself wrote a letter saying that "no one" was more "truly satisfied" than him that the threat of the Illuminati had been avoided. Third president Thomas Jefferson was also accused of being a member. While the conspiracy theory has partly survived due to its links to the mythology of the founding fathers in America, it was the Russian Revolution that led to the Illuminati being the 'monster' theory it became, illuminati expert Michael Taylor told the BBC. The Russian empire and monarchy were replaced by their "polar opposite" and like the French Revolution, it was an "equally traumatic, dramatic event". Since then, the idea of a "world-dominating" secret society has "never really left people's minds", said History Extra. However, today's idea of the Illuminati is far removed from its Bavarian origins, author and broadcaster David Bramwell told BBC Future. The "totally unsubstantiated" modern image of the group mostly comes from the "era of counter-culture mania, LSD and interest in Eastern philosophy" that dominated the mid-1960s. "It all began somewhere amid the Summer of Love and the hippie phenomenon, when a small, printed text emerged: 'Principia Discordia'." "Principia Discordia" preached a form of anarchism and promoted civil disobedience ranging from practical jokes to hoaxes. It was, said the BBC, a "parody text for a parody faith" called "Discordianism". Some of the main proponents of this new ideology were writers Robert Anton Wilson and Kerry Thornley, who wanted to bring chaos back into society by spreading "misinformation through all portals – through counter-culture, through the mainstream media", Bramwell said. Wilson and Thornley then turned their theories into a book, "The Illuminatus! Trilogy", which became a "surprise cult success". It was even transformed into a play, "launching the careers of British actors Bill Nighy and Jim Broadbent". But it was the arrival of the internet that truly turned the idea of a global elite conspiring to rule the world from a niche belief to a global conspiracy theory – making it "the least secret secret society in the universe", wrote philosopher Julian Baggini in The Guardian. If there is "one thing social media likes even more than conspiracy theories, it's Easter egg hunts: searching for hidden clues", said indy100. "The Illuminati has those in abundance, most notably the so-called 'Eye of Providence' – an eye set within a triangle, which happens to feature on the reverse of the American one-dollar bill". Other associated symbols include pentagrams, goats and the number 666. Conspiracy theorists often analyse public events for "evidence" of Illuminati influence. This has given birth to an entire cottage industry. The number of books available on the Illuminati is "staggering" said V13, running to the thousands. Some of them "assert the Illuminati are the progeny of lizard-like aliens; others maintain the Illuminati are part and parcel of a vast Jewish conspiracy; a few say the Illuminati no longer exist; and still others present their group as the true Illuminati and provide written manifestos and instructions on how to join." It is "basic human nature" to believe in secret groups such as the Illuminati, said Baggini in The Guardian. "We are constantly on the lookout for both patterns and agency", as both are essential for our survival. Politicians are not immune, either. In 2018, Canada's former defence chief Paul Hellyer told the Lazarus Effect podcast there was a "secret cabal that's actually running the world". Four years later, then US president Joe Biden unwittingly fanned the conspiracy theory flames when he referred to a coming "new world order" during a speech. "He was referring to the shifting sands of geopolitical relations in response to Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine", said The Independent. However, for conspiracy theorists, such comments are seen as further evidence that there is a "puppet-master overlord, hell-bent on global domination and busy manipulating international events to achieve his villainous ends". Illuminati believers also tout theories about the "New World Order", "a shadowy elite force" which, they claim, wants to bring about a "totalitarian world government", said the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) think tank. This "grand ongoing conspiracy" to exert control over the media, civil society and democracy is often blamed for global events and disasters. Supporters of the New World Order theory believe "even the powerful US government is now just a puppet government", overshadowed and overpowered by the Order, said Modern Diplomacy. The New World Order is "not so much a single plot as a way of reading history", said New York Magazine. "Suspicions surrounding a shadow Establishment" can be traced all the way back to the rise of Freemasonry in the 1700s, but it was "the past century's global wars, political realignments, and media innovations that gave new purchase to this age-old paranoia". The New World Order theory has resonated with right-wing extremist and militia groups – some claim that increased gun control in the US is proof that the Order is forcing the government to restrict individual freedoms, said the ISD. With its "language around elites", the theory is often mixed with antisemitic tropes, reinforcing the "narrative of Jewish people controlling global agendas". Not long after Barruel's history of the French revolution was published, he was "sent a letter by a man called Jean Baptiste Simonini, who alleged that Jews were also part of the conspiracy. "This letter – the original of which has never been found – continues to shape antisemitic conspiracy thinking to this day," said history professor Claus Oberhauser on The Conversation. The belief that the Illuminati had "infiltrated the ranks of European Jewish bankers in the nineteenth century" fed into the creation of the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion", the "transcript" of an invented meeting of Jewish leaders plotting world domination published in Russian in 1903, said the UCL historian Michael Berkowitz. This hoax document in turn led to the idea that "bankers/Jews/Illuminati were behind the Bolshevik Revolution – as well as the creation of the Federal Reserve system in the US". These conspiracy theories became particularly prevalent in the interwar years, said the American Jewish Committee, when "fascist propaganda claimed the Illuminati were a subversive element which served Jewish elites who were behind global capitalism and Soviet communism and were plotting to create a New World Order". Numerous pop-culture icons have been accused of having links to the Illuminati over the years, including Madonna, Kim Kardashian and LeBron James. Beyoncé was accused of being a member after making a diamond shape – a so-called Illuminati sign – with her hands during her performance at the 2013 Super Bowl. Her husband Jay-Z is also said to be part of the order and allegedly hides its symbols in his videos. Even Taylor Swift's love for the number 13 is seen as proof that she is a member. Some musicians seem to enjoy deliberately playing with symbols connected to secret societies. For instance, Rihanna has incorporated Illuminati images into her music videos and even jokes about the theories in the video for "S&M". It featured a montage of fake newspaper headlines, with one declaring her "Princess of the Illuminati". David Rockefeller, Henry Kissinger, Jacob Rothschild and Queen Elizabeth II were all rumoured to be members. Katy Perry once told Rolling Stone the theory was the preserve of "weird people on the internet", but said she was flattered to be named among supposed members: "I guess you've kind of made it when they think you're in the Illuminati!"
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
28 Years Later Ends On A Cliffhanger, And The Filmmakers Explain Why They Did That Even Without The New Trilogy Greenlighted
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Warning: massive spoilers for 28 Years Later are quarantined within. If you haven't made your cinematic journey to the mainland yet, you've been warned. Well folks, we made it. Almost 23 years later, the 2025 movie schedule has reunited the world with the zombie-adjacent apocalypse of 28 Years Later. With a planned trilogy in the works, and a second film already in the can, that cliffhanger you've just witnessed is quite something - especially since the potential third entry is still being considered for a greenlight. That's not only left people questioning this first chapter's ending, but also has us wondering if we'll see a bigger cliffhanger in January's sequel The Bone Temple. So if you haven't seen this film yet, you can divert to our 28 Years Later review and stay spoiler-free. I say that because I need to talk about what happens in the finale, as well as how Danny Boyle and Alex Garland view the story's pacing in relation to that uncertainty. We see 28 Years Later ending with Spike's (Alfie Williams) seemingly random meeting with 'The Cult of Jimmy.' To some, this represents a jarring tonal shift, especially when Sir Jimmy Crystal (Jack O'Connell) and his merry band of rogues gleefully spring into action while wearing colored tracksuits. This upbeat moment arrives after 28 Years Later's bittersweet tale, and that notion ties into my conversation with Danny Boyle and Alex Garland. That shift, as well as the cliffhanger nature of the movement, fits their approach to the stories ahead. And Mr. Boyle had something to say on the matter, which made it make the most sense. Here's what he told CinemaBlend: That's not just like a bit of plot, it's how all the ingredients will bring us to the end. And so what's incredible about doing these is that, because Alex has set it up as a trilogy, you have an ending. You want a completion of your story, plus you want this idea that you've identified of handover, that's gonna take your hand you across to another kind of ingredient, another episode,I dunno what you call it. I don't wanna make it sound like a streaming television or something, but it's another part of the journey. So, for those of you who thought that 28 Years Later ended on a random moment, relax. This is a planned trilogy, with a hook teasing where director Nia DaCosta's The Bone Temple will take things. And that ending didn't come out of nowhere, as Alex Garland's full vision expanded what was once one film into a three-picture epic. When talking with the writer/director behind movies such as Civil War and Ex Machina, he turned me onto something I think we all forget at times. Alex Garland reminded me that even a 'low budget' film of a couple of million dollars is a 'massive amount of money' for anyone who isn't a captain of industry. So trying to play your cards to make sure that money is paid back is still playing it safe, which, as you'll read in his remarks to CinemaBlend, is the total opposite of what he intended to do: Your ability to keep working within film is very often directly tied to the last thing you did, right? So you are sort of used to that. … The thing you are talking about is 'Is it gonna work? Is it gonna make enough money? Are we gonna be able to make the third one?' All of that just goes out the window, because on a day-by-day basis, you are simply focusing on making the thing you are in. It's almost enough to make you want a 'Write Like No One's Paying' needlepoint to hang on the wall. Though if it were themed after 28 Years Later, it'd have to have some cool font choices, and a lot of blood. Some are probably miffed that despite clear indications being laid out, Cillian Murphy's planned return to the franchise hasn't even happened yet. Admittedly, that would be the traditional hook to get folks in the door. But instead, Alex Garland and Danny Boyle have saved that card in the deck, as it probably won't be until later on in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple; with a major upgrade in the unproduced finale. Which is something that was probably decided when looking for the proper ending to a trilogy-starting entry. Alex Garland's full story plan for 28 Years Later is still pretty unknown to the world at large. And considering 28 Days Later's history of ending decisions, anything could change between now and the release of that third film. Though that might put pressure on the more business-minded folks, that's just not how you tell a story–and Danny Boyle understands that–as you'll read in his continued remarks below: You may have a great ending written, and you may well do that ending; but what you're doing is not looking for the budget. … You're just looking all the time in the shooting, and especially the editing, and in the process of sharing it with people, both test audiences and your peers. You're looking for the ending. 'Where is the ending? How are we gonna arrive at this ending?' Spike's meeting with Sir Jimmy Crystal and his cult is a more mysterious final note, especially because of that tonal shift. And we can't really tell where it's going to lead, at least until the first trailer for 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple arrives. Which brings us back to the subject of the uncertain final chapter, and how Danny Boyle is confident it'll happen after all. As an impatient fan, I share those worries about 28 Years Later's potential finale not being greenlit. During my previous interview with the director, back when he introduced the film's 28-minute sizzle reel, I posed the question of whether or not there's a backup plan. It was then that the Yesterday director gave me the most Danny Boyle answer he could: You kind of always will make sure it comes home, because it's like we are committed to the idea of it. So we'll find a way. It's just like nature, it'll evolve so that we'll find a way of doing it. But hopefully we'll do well enough so that Sony will give us the money to complete it, and do the third one. And that will have Cillian in it. So that's the idea of it. So just to recap: Cillian Murphy is supposed to be a major part of 28 Years Later's unnamed third chapter, with the potential to appear in The Bone Temple's ending 'hand off.' But without the market reflecting the people's desire for such a story, we may not get to see it. Whether the numbers on this first movie deliver or not, that leaves me thinking about a specific final note about the next cliffhanger in the line. If you didn't like the ending of 28 Years Later, I apologize if what I'm about to say sounds like heresy. But we need to set the expectation that Nia DaCosta's entry in the saga is going to have an even bigger swing as its hand-off finale. It needs to, as middle entries in a trilogy tend to be more downbeat, while raising the stakes for a grand finale. With 28 Years Later's impressive presales going into this weekend, I'm confident that the third movie will happen after all. And after talking to Danny Boyle and Alex Garland, I also feel that we'll see Spike's story ending in the way that best suits the overarching message. So now it's just a case of getting in front of a screening of 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple as soon as humanly possible. But for those of you who either haven't seen the movie or want to revisit it to form your opinion, head to your nearest theater and prepare to embrace the Rage in a good way.
