Kieran Culkin Will Lead Disney’s New Animated Adventure CLAY as the World’s Worst Mentor

Disney is giving Kieran Culkin a ball of clay, a fantastical forest, and a character who sounds spectacularly unqualified for his new job.

Walt Disney Animation Studios has announced its new original animated movie Clay, with Culkin set to lead the voice cast as Flip, an aspiring mentor whose first attempt at guiding a student goes wildly off course.

The film was revealed during Disney’s Entertainment Showcase at D23 and is scheduled to hit theaters in November 2028.

The concept for Clay sounds like a fun spin on the classic Disney mentor-and-student story. Rather than introducing another wise teacher who has all the answers, Disney is putting an absolute mess in charge.

Walt Disney Animation chief Jared Bush shared the premise and explained how the studio arrived at Flip:

“We have a rich history of stories that celebrate inspiring mentors and their aspirational students. So, with that in mind, we asked ourselves one very important question: What if the next Disney mentor stunk?

“And he does, and his name is Flip, and he has chosen to be his village’s next great mentor and is assigned his first student — a literal ball of clay born that very moment, named Mushi.

“So, like all inspiring mentors, Flip runs away in the middle of the night, only to discover that Mushi is inescapable and pure chaos, and now out in the wild, Flip must keep Mushi alive on a journey through a fantastical forest.”

That sounds like exactly the kind of character Culkin could have a lot of fun playing. It's a simple premise with plenty of room for comedy, weird creatures, adventure, and, presumably, Flip eventually figuring out that being a mentor requires more than simply declaring yourself one.

Culkin is best known for playing Roman Roy in HBO’s Succession, a performance that earned him an Emmy Award. He also won an Academy Award for his performance in A Real Pain.

His ability to play characters who are sarcastic, impulsive, funny, and frequently overwhelmed makes him a pretty great choice for a Disney character described as being in over his head.

Disney hasn't revealed the rest of the Clay voice cast yet, so there's still plenty to learn about Mushi, the village, and whatever strange characters Flip encounters during his journey.

It's also nice to see Walt Disney Animation Studios developing another original story rather than relying entirely on familiar franchises.

Clay will be released in theaters in November 2028.