I’m genuinely fascinated enough by the recent conversations about Daniel Radcliffe potentially becoming the DCU Clayface movie’s lead actor that I think this scenario becoming reality would earn DC my lifelong movie interest basically forever after. Having been a household name since the early 2000s, it arguably would have been harder to not know who Daniel Radcliffe was than to be aware of his acting career after it jumped to considerable heights with the Harry Potter movie series. However, it’s the years after this that present some especially exciting prospects in the superhero world.

Where many child actors understandably decide to retire or change careers, Daniel Radcliffe has instead delved into an impressive ᴀssortment of different roles, ensuring his roster of performances is anything but repeтιтive when looking back through time. While the latest rumors that Radcliffe would be adding to this collection with the Clayface movie have proved to be not quite as true as I had hoped, the way in which they have been debunked means the future could still see the actor become the iconic earthen antagonist, and I am very much crossing my fingers this could be the case.

Daniel Radcliffe Has Long Been A Top Fancasting For Marvel & DC’s Superhero Movies

Daniel Radcliffe has consistently been a name floated around when it comes to the topic of superhero fancastings, seemingly due to a combination of his decidedly famous reputation as an actor, and the acting talent he’s repeatedly demonstrated from a young age, and honed considerably across the course of his on-screen career. Radcliffe’s filmography proves he’s capable of leaning into the comedy side of stories or playing things entirely serious – or sometimes both – meaning the range of roles that would be possible for him in the superhero sphere are theoretically considerable.

Perhaps the most popular fancasting theory has historically been that of the concept of making Radcliffe the MCU’s Wolverine. This idea is one that has even been posed to Wolverine actor Hugh Jackman himself, who was asked about whether Daniel Radcliffe could play Wolverine and whether he could play Harry Potter in an interview with LadBibleTV, where he jokingly responded, “of course he could play [Wolverine]… the question was could he play it? I didn’t say he’d play it well.”

Radcliffe has also weighed in on the matter, albeit to temper fan hopes that a Wolverine casting is already on the horizon. In 2022, the actor explained in an interview with GQ that rumors about this casting were “purely a press tour rumor”, and debunked speculation on this topic once more when it cropped up again in 2023 amid rumors he was training for the role, stating to Variety that “I got buff because I am obsessive, and I want to… No Wolverine. Flattered, but no.” However, one DC casting possibility seems far more viable than Logan for the star.

The Rumor Daniel Radcliffe Could Be The DCU Clayface Movie’s Star Is Almost Too Good For The Franchise To Pᴀss Up Even If It’s Not True

Rumors emerged that Daniel Radcliffe was being looked at as a potential casting for the starring role in the DCU’s Clayface movie not all that long after the movie itself was officially announced. This quickly sparked fan curiosity due to the way it matches up with the actor’s history since finishing his performance as Harry Potter, which has seen him take a wide range of unusual and exciting roles in the years since, suggesting not only that the role could align with this filmography, but also that it would be a match that could seriously benefit the DC Universe release.

While James Gunn debunked these rumors on Threads in February 2025, he explained that Radcliffe hadn’t been considered because the movie wasn’t at a casting stage yet, as the DC Studios co-CEO stated: “As we confirmed the other day, we’re closing a deal with James to direct. Because we don’t have a director yet, we haven’t even started the casting process. Daniel is great but we certainly haven’t talked to or considered him. So this one is 100% false.” Notably, the fact this was debunked because the casting process simply hasn’t begun does leave the possibility open.

Ultimately, the popularity of the prospective fancasting works to make it something those involved in the movie are likely to at least consider when things approach the casting stages. Indeed, James Gunn has previously stated “When I’m casting a role I will sometimes see who fans have suggested online for folks I or my casting directors haven’t considered.”, though he did also add this hadn’t played a key role in casting previously. However, the combination of Daniel Radcliffe’s star power, acting prowess, and acting history certainly all support the idea of this being a strong potential avenue for the DCU.

I Genuinely Believe Daniel Radcliffe Could Be The Best Clayface Casting Imaginable For The DCU Movie

Though Daniel Radcliffe is still most ᴀssociated with his 10-year-long role as Harry Potter, his acting history has seen him take on a selection of roles that make him seem the ideal choice for playing the DCU movie’s Clayface in many ways. Radcliffe has featured in several horror movies since his career began, appearing as the lead of The Woman In Black and comedy horror Horns, and appearing in Victor Frankenstein. Given the DCU’s Clayface is set to be a body horror film, it stands to reason an actor with horror movie experience benefits the story in question.

Similarly, Radcliffe’s varied projects in the past decade pose a promising picture when it comes to the idea of him appearing as Clayface in the upcoming DC movie, since he’s managed to expertly pull off a selection of roles that seem inherently hard to cast for or to get right. We’ve seen Radcliffe be a talking corpse with magic powers, a man with guns bolted to his hands, and Weird Al Yankovic, and he has made all of these performances equal parts entertaining and engrossing, strongly suggesting he could do the same for the shapeshifting Clayface too.

While fans have hoped the actor would appear in a superhero release via a Wolverine casting, this seems less likely given Hugh Jackman’s return to the role in ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine. That said, even if both were possible, I do think the Clayface role offers a unique appeal that casting Radcliffe as Wolverine doesn’t, since it not only mirrors the unusual directions of many of the actor’s previous roles, both also presents a character who is ideally equal parts horrifying to audiences and yet also a figure they naturally empathize with even when he no doubt takes a villainous path.

Though the DCU faces a similar complication to Wolverine in terms of Alan Tudyk voicing Clayface already in the DCU’s Creature Commandos, there are already easier way around this matter – most straightforwardly that Tudyk could work as the voice of the fully transformed “monster” Clayface, with Daniel Radcliffe instead playing the unfortunate person who slowly finds themselves transformed into a clay-like creature far from human physiology. This could also ensure Radcliffe doesn’t have to get locked into a many-year role, which could hopefully make him appearing as the star of the Clayface movie all the more viable.

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