Tom Rhys Harries has revealed who he wants to team up with in the DC Universe (DCU) to fight Batman after he debuts in the comic book horror movie Clayface, based on the classic Batman villain. In an exclusive interview with ComicBook, Harries said that he really likes what he has seen with Colin Farrell playing Penguin, both in The Batman and in the HBO solo villain series The Penguin. However, he also hedged this comment with a cautionary statement, saying he wasn’t sure he was supposed to say that.
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It is interesting that Harries would comment on a team-up he would like to see, while worrying that he might not have been supposed to mention Penguin. It is also intriguing since Penguin is part of Matt Reeves’ DC world and not the DCU. When answering the question for ComicBook, he said, “I love what Colin’s done with the Penguin. I don’t know if I’m allowed to say that. Yeah, I mean, it’s so good… It could work.”
Clayface Actor Talks Possible DC Villain Team-Ups in the Movies
Image Courtesy of Warner Bros.
Clayface is a huge movie for the DCU, as James Gunn proves that different styles can work with the franchise, going with a villain-centric horror story on the big screen after two superhero movies. In this film, which is timed perfectly for the Halloween season, Tom Rhys Harries plays Matt Hagen, an actor who finally achieves his dreams, only to end up being disfigured by a local mob boss. Depressed and discouraged, he seeks out a cure through a scientific experiment, but it turns him into the monstrous Clayface. From here, he seeks revenge, but his future gets much darker.
While Hagen is the hero of the story, and the audience is meant to follow him as he seeks revenge, Harries admitted that there is no redemption coming for him once he crosses the line. Harries said that Matt’s “moral compass and his value system are being challenged the whole time.” However, there is that one line he crosses that he will never be able to come back from. Without giving spoilers, it is this moment that proves that Matt is gone and Clayface is now a genuine villain. This also opens up the chance for him to possibly team up with other Gotham City villains and fight Batman.
Even if Clayface didn’t go full villain, his actions are likely to attract Batman’s attention anyway, so he really has no choice but to become one of Gotham’s growing number of villains. Penguin was always a villain, but he was also the lesser of two evils when compared to people like Carmine Falcone and the rest of the Falcone family. While it is easy to cheer for Penguin when he is facing other mobsters, when Batman shows up, he is just another villain. Clayface is the same, albeit a more tragic version of a Batman villain.
Harries sees him in much the same light. “There’s a clear line, and then, and then it’s like, but that’s what also makes it so sad,” the actor said. It also makes Clayface a little less villainous than someone like Joker, Riddler, or even Penguin. He is more comparable to someone like Killer Croc, who has been made to look sympathetic over time. However, with the dark line that Harries said his character crosses, by the end, there might be no turning back. That could make a future team-up with Penguin even more promising if the DCU continues Clayface’s story.
Would you want to see Clayface team up with Penguin in a future DCU movie? Let us know what you want to see from the Batman villain in the comments below.
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