Production crews are hard at work ahead of a big film shoot
Stockport is to be temporarily turned into Batman’s Gotham as a new superhero movie is filmed in the borough(Image: Manchester Evening News)
The dark streets of Gotham have taken over one Greater Manchester borough as DC gears up production on their big new superhero film.
Locals in Stockport this week will have noticed a number of fences, signs, and large-scale props appearing in the town centre – with a lot of action surrounding the streets outside the Stockport Plaza on Mersey Square.
The prominent Grade II-listed building, which was first opened in 1932, has been chosen as one of the backdrops for a big scene in DC’s upcoming Clayface movie. A huge red carpet has been placed outside the theatre, ahead of filming taking place later on today (September 9).
The movie, which is set to star White Lines and Suspicion actor Tom Rhys Harries in the lead role of Matt Hagen, will follow the prominent comic book villain, who is a recurring enemy of Batman. In the comics, Matt is is able to shapeshift and transform his body into clay.
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Stockport Plaza is set to double-up as a Gotham movie theatre for scenes in the upcoming Clayface movie(Image: Manchester Evening News)
Produced by Guardians of the Galaxy writer and director James Gunn, the movie will be directed by James Watkins and is also set to star Naomi Ackie, Max Minghella and Ray Donovan actor Eddie Marsan.
Filming for the movie, which is set to be released next year, has already taken place in a number of locations across the North West. Last week, a number of scenes were filmed across Liverpool.
Production crews transformed the exterior of Liverpool Crown Court and the surrounding Derby Square in the city centre, which was littered with rubbish and fake graffiti was sprayed onto walls. Liverpool’s The World Museum was also used for filming, where it was seen transformed into Gotham City Courthouse.
Production is being set up outside Stockport Plaza for new DC film Clayface(Image: Manchester Evening News)
For the scenes at Stockport Plaza, posters and signs have been displayed on set promoting a fictional movie called The Light Between, suggesting it will possibly serve as a red carpet premiere in the production. A prop poster of the fake movie suggests it will star characters Niki Claire and Freddy Tansino in the leading roles.
According to Hollywood publication Deadline, this version of Clayface could be set to see Harries’ version of Matt as a semi-successful actor who goes on to portray the character he once played in a horror movie. Rumours circulating the production have also suggested it will be a horror-thriller film, following in the vein of director Watkins’ previous effort Speak No Evil.
Clayface, which is directed by James Watkins, is set to be released in September 2026(Image: Manchester Evening News)
Following the release of DC’s successful Superman adaptation earlier this year, Clayface is set to form part of the DC Universe’s Chapter One: Gods and Monsters series of films. The series is also set to include the upcoming Supergirl, Man of Tomorrow and Swamp Thing movies.
In recent years, the Stockport Plaza building has been described as a ‘remarkably lavish exercise in the Art Deco style’. The theatre also still features the original organ, built by the John Compton Organ Company ahead of its grand opening.
Set designers have been hard at work preparing for the film shoot in Stockport(Image: Manchester Evening News)
The theatre was given a revamp last year which saw the arrival of a recreation of the original House Tab curtains used in the venue when it first opens. Marking the building’s fifth incarnation since opening, the theatre hosts film screenings, music shows, and pantomimes, with upcoming shows including a full-scale production of Macbeth as well as Su Pollard’s Still Fully Charged one-woman show.
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